According to the quarterly silicon wafer analysis report released by SEMI's Silicon Manufacturers Group (SMG), global silicon wafer shipments increased by 7.1% month-on-month in the second quarter of 2024, reaching 3.035 billion square inches (MSI), but decreased by 8.9% compared with 3.331 billion square inches in the same period last year.
Li Chongwei, Chairman of SEMISMG and Vice President of GlobalWafers (Global Wafers), said: "The silicon wafer market is recovering, thanks to strong demand related to data centers and generative artificial intelligence (AI) products. Although the recovery is uneven across different applications,Second quarter 300mm wafer shipments increased 8% sequentially, the best performance among all wafer sizes.An increasing number of new semiconductor fabs are being built or expanding capacity. This expansion, and the long-term trend toward a $1 trillion semiconductor market, will inevitably lead to demand for more silicon wafers. "
In the first quarter of 2024, global silicon wafer shipments fell 5.4% quarter-on-quarter to 2.834 billion square inches, a 13.2% decrease from 3.265 billion square inches in the same period last year.
Li Chongwei once said that the continued decline in IC fab utilization rates and inventory adjustments have led to negative growth in all wafer sizes in the first quarter of 2024, and the utilization rates of some fabs have bottomed out in the fourth quarter of 2023.