Taiwan is forecast to retain its position as having the second-largest semiconductor capacity in the world this year, with production capacity set to increase more than 4 percent from a year earlier, the global semiconductor trade association SEMI said on Thursday.
The global semiconductor industry is expected to enjoy a recovery in demand after a slump last year, as many countries are coming up with incentives to encourage production expansion by building new wafer foundry plants and introducing new equipment, SEMI global chief marketing officer and Taiwan president Terry Tsao (曹世綸) said in a statement.
SEMI’s latest World Fab Forecast report said global semiconductor capacity is expected to rise 6.4 percent this year and surpass 30 million wafers per month to a new high after rising 5.5 percent to 29.6 wafers per month last year.
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This year, 42 new semiconductor fabs are to start mass production, compared with 11 last year, it said.
“Resurgent market demand and increased government incentives worldwide are powering an upsurge in fab investments in key chipmaking regions and the projected 6.4 percent rise in global capacity for 2024,” SEMI president and CEO Ajit Manocha said in the report.
“The heightened global attention on the strategic importance of semiconductor manufacturing to national and economic security is a key catalyst of the trend,” Manocha added.
Taiwan’s output is expected to reach 5.7 million wafers per month this year, up 4.2 percent from a year earlier after an anticipated year-on-year increase of 5.6 percent last year, which pushed it to 5.4 million wafers per month, the report said.
China is expected to raise its capacity to 8.6 million units per month this year, up 13 percent from a year earlier, to take the top spot in the world on the back of government funding and other incentives, the report said.
Chinese semiconductor suppliers are projected to add 18 wafer fabs this year, SEMI said.
South Korea’s capacity is expected to rise 5.4 percent from a year earlier to 5.10 million wafers per month, giving it the third-largest capacity in the world, the report said.
Japan is expected to boost its output by about 2 percent from a year earlier to 4.70 million units per month, taking the No. 4 spot, it added.
In the Americas, semiconductor capacity is expected to grow 6 percent from a year earlier to 3.10 million wafers per month, while capacity in Europe and the Middle East is to rise 3.6 percent to 2.70 million units per month and capacity in Southeast Asia is forecast to rise 4 percent to 1.70 million units per month, it said.
The pure wafer foundry segment is expected to become the largest buyer of production equipment for its expansion, with capacity likely to hit 10.20 million wafers per month, up from the anticipated 9.3 million last year, SEMI said.
As for the memorychip segment, DRAM suppliers are expected to raise capacity by 2 percent to 3.8 million wafers per month and an additional 5 percent to 4 million units per month next year, it said.
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