August 6, 2026 / SemiMedia / — GlobalWafers said during its second-quarter earnings conference call on August 4 that a supply-demand imbalance has begun to emerge in the semiconductor wafer industry.

The company said its 12-inch (300mm), 8-inch (200mm) and 6-inch (150mm) wafer production lines are effectively operating at full capacity. Supply constraints have already appeared for certain advanced 12-inch wafer products.

GlobalWafers attributed the tightening market to rapidly growing demand from artificial-intelligence semiconductors, high-bandwidth memory, silicon photonics and advanced-packaging technologies.

As demand continues to increase, memory and logic-chip manufacturers are increasingly seeking to secure long-term wafer capacity, making potential capacity shortages a growing concern.

The structure of long-term agreements is also changing. Contract periods are extending from the traditional three years to between five and eight years in some cases.

Last month, GlobalWafers signed a 10-year LTA with Micron, one of the longest agreements in the wafer industry. The contract will take effect next year and includes strategic financial support in the form of prepayments.

GlobalWafers expects LTAs to generate most of its revenue during the second half of this year and the first half of next year.

Industry sources expect wafer price increases to eventually be reflected in new long-term contracts.

GlobalWafers said it is discussing price adjustments with customers to reflect rising raw-material, energy, logistics and labor costs. Existing LTAs will retain their contracted prices, while future agreements will include pricing mechanisms that reflect market conditions, changes in product mix and industry developments.