SEMI: Global Semiconductor Capacity to Increase by 6.4% in 2024, Exceeding Monthly 30 Million Wafer Starts for the First Time

The latest "World Wafer Fab Forecast Report" from SEMI shows that the global semiconductor monthly wafer production capacity is projected to increase by 5.5% to 29.6 million units in 2023, and is expected to grow by 6.4% in 2024, surpassing the milestone of 30 million units per month for the first time (calculated in terms of 200mm equivalents).

SEMI believes that the growth in 2024 will be driven by capacity expansion in advanced logic and foundry, including applications such as generative artificial intelligence and high-performance computing (HPC), as well as the recovery of chip terminal demand. From 2022 to 2024, the global semiconductor industry plans to start operations of 82 new wafer fabs, including 11 projects in 2023 and 42 projects in 2024, with wafer sizes ranging from 300mm to 100mm (12 inches to 4 inches).

In mainland China, semiconductor manufacturers are projected to increase production capacity by 12% in 2023, reaching 7.6 million wafers per month. It is expected that Chinese chip makers will commence operations on 18 new projects in 2024, with a capacity growth of 13% compared to the previous year, reaching 8.6 million wafers per month. Taiwan will remain the second-largest region in semiconductor manufacturing capacity, with an anticipated 5.6% increase in capacity to 5.4 million wafers per month in 2023, and a further 4.2% growth to 5.7 million wafers per month in 2024. In the same year, five new wafer fab facilities are set to be established in this region.

In terms of product categories, the expansion of storage chip production capacity is expected to slow down in 2023, with a monthly capacity increase of only 2%, reaching 3.8 million wafers per month. In 2024, there will be a 5% increase to reach 4 million wafers per month. The installed capacity of 3D NAND chips is projected to remain stable at 3.6 million wafers per month in 2023, and then grow by 2% in 2024 to reach 3.7 million wafers per month.

For discrete components and analog chips, the electrification of vehicles continues to be a key driving factor for capacity expansion. The production capacity of discrete component chips is expected to grow by 10% in 2023, reaching 4.1 million wafers per month, and will further increase by 7% in 2024 to reach 4.4 million wafers per month. Analog chip production capacity is forecasted to increase by 11% in 2023 to 2.1 million wafers and by 10% in 2024 to reach 2.4 million wafers.