Monthly semiconductor capacity is forecast to reach 6.4% in 2024, topping the 30 million wafers per month (WPM) market for the first time in history, according to trade organization SEMI.
This is after semiconductor global capacity rose 5.5% to 29.6 wafers per month last year.
SEMI said the growth will be from capacity increases in edge logic and foundry, applications including generative artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC). End-demand recovery for chips is also expected to contribute to the wafer capacity growth, SEMI 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% rise in global capacity for 2024,” said Ajit Manocha, president and CEO at SEMI. “The heightened global attention on the strategic importance of semiconductor manufacturing to national and economic security is a key catalyst of these trends.”
China leads
China is expected to lead all segments in global semiconductor production with 18 projects in 2024 expected to begin. Year-on-year capacity growth is expected to rise 13% to 8.6 million WPM.
Taiwan is projected to be the second-highest region increasing 4.2% to 5.7 million WPM in 2024. The region is expected to begin operations on five fabs in 2024. Korea will rank third in chip capacity with forecasted growth of 5.1 million WPM in 2024, a 5.4% increase. Japan will follow with 4.7 WPM in 2024, an increase of 2% with four fabs coming online this year.
Not surprisingly, foundries will be the top semiconductor equipment buyers, increasing capacity to 10.2 million WPM in 2024, an industry record.
