Silicon wafer revenues grew 21% in 2017
San Diego, CA, June 08, 2018: TECHCET—the advisory services firm providing electronic materials information— announced that global semiconductor wafer fabrication process materials market grew by 9 percent year-over-year (Y/Y) to reach US$41.4 billion in 2017. Silicon wafers are one of the main drivers for this growth, with the cumulative area of all wafer sizes shipped in millions of square inches (MSI) growing 9.9 percent Y/Y, along with revenues increasing 21 percent. The forecasted growth for 2018 of MSI and revenues are estimated at 6 percent and 22 percent, respectively, as detailed in the latest TECHCET Critical Materials Report (CMR) on Silicon Wafers.
Silicon wafer supplier activities include the following:
o GlobalWafers is operating at full capacity, which will increase by 7 percent in 2018,
o Siltronic and SUMCO are both increasing capacity, and
o New Chinese entrants to the market will add over 1.2 million WSPM by 2020 potentially creating a significant oversupply in the market.
“Global semiconductor wafer revenues increased by 36 percent year-over-year in the first quarter of 2018, so the industry should be able to fund additional capacity,” commented Dean Freeman, TECHCET senior analyst and author of the report. “SEH is the only Top-6 supplier to have not yet made an expansion announcement, however it is very likely that they will add capacity to defend their top market-share position.”
TECHCET’s proprietary wafer-demand forecast predicts a deficit in supply through the year 2020 and possibly into 2021. Semiconductor fabs producing devices on 150mm and 200mm diameter wafers are now running at maximum capacity, and are expected to maintain high demand for silicon. Wafers <=150mm in diameter saw MSI growth of 19 percent Y/Y, while 200mm wafers experienced healthy growth of 15 percent Y/Y. Suppliers covered in this report include: Ferrotec, GlobalWafers/SunEdison, Hemlock Semiconductor (HSC), National Silicon Industry Group (NSIG) of China, Okmetic Ojy, Shin Etsu Hondotai (SEH), Siltronic, SK Siltron, SUMCO, Wacker Chemie AG, and Wafer Works. Purchase Reports Here: https://techcet.com/product/silicon-wafers/