Worldwide Silicon Wafer Shipments Fall in Q3 2023

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Worldwide silicon wafer shipments decreased 9.6% quarter-over-quarter to 3,010 million square inches in the third quarter of 2023, a 19.5% drop from the 3,741 million square inches recorded during the same quarter last year, the SEMI Silicon Manufacturers Group (SMG) reported in its quarterly analysis of the silicon wafer industry.

“The decline in global silicon shipments continued as a result of the ongoing broad-based inventory correction cycle,” said Anna-Riikka Vuorikari-Antikainen, Chairman of SEMI SMG and Chief Commercial Officer at Okmetic. “Silicon wafer shipments for the computing, communications, consumer and memory markets saw the most pronounced declines due to a softening in demand and continuing economic uncertainties, while the automotive and industrial sectors were resilient during this period.”

Data cited in this release include polished silicon wafers, including those used as virgin test wafers, as well as epitaxial silicon wafers, and non-polished silicon wafers shipped by the wafer manufacturers to end users.

Silicon wafers are the fundamental building material for the majority of semiconductors, which are vital components of all electronic devices. The highly engineered thin disks are produced in diameters of up to 12 inches and serve as the substrate material on which most semiconductors are fabricated.

The SMG is a sub-committee of the SEMI Electronic Materials Group (EMG) and is open to SEMI members involved in manufacturing polycrystalline silicon, monocrystalline silicon or silicon wafers (e.g., as cut, polished, epi). The SMG facilitates collective efforts on issues related to the silicon industry including the development of market information and statistics about the silicon industry and the semiconductor market.