Although the foundry industry has begun to enter a period of inventory correction, SUMCO, a major silicon wafer manufacturer, said that the supply of 12-inch silicon wafers will continue to exceed demand in the third quarter, and it is even optimistic that the shortage of advanced products will continue until 2026. Universal Crystal (6488-TW) 12-inch demand also continues to be strong, and the production capacity will be fully loaded until next year; for advanced silicon wafer products, the current order continues to boom, and there is no sign of demand cooling.
Wafer foundries have recently released information that the industry is facing inventory correction, and most of them believe that the situation will continue to the first half of next year, and upstream silicon wafer fabs are also difficult to stay out of the situation.3532-TW) has revealed that customers with mature processes have adjusted their orders this season, and Hejing (6182-TW), Universal Crystal (6488-TW) The production capacity of small size below 6 inches has also begun to loosen.
As demand cools, mature processes and small-scale products bear the brunt, production capacity begins to loosen, and the operation of silicon wafer fabs with a low proportion of long-term contracts is also facing greater pressure; however, relatively advanced products such as 12-inch silicon wafers are used in automotive, Driven by momentum such as high-efficiency computing, demand continues to be strong.
Shengco pointed out that although the market for 12-inch PCs, smartphones and other terminal products faced inventory adjustments in the third quarter, demand from data centers and automotive applications continued to be strong. It is estimated that 12-inch silicon wafers will continue to be in short supply. The shortage of crystalline silicon wafers is expected to last for a long time, even until 2026.
As for 8-inch silicon wafers, Shenggao said that the main driving force is from the automotive industry, which still maintains strong demand; for silicon wafers below 6 inches, it is estimated that the shortage will ease.
Global Crystal also pointed out that there are differences in client inventory, mobile phone customers have high inventory levels, and efficient computing is low. At present, there is no customer order cut. The demand for 12-inch next year is still very strong, and the 8-inch market is also at a healthy level. Although the 6-inch capacity utilization rate has declined, the 8-inch and 12-inch capacity in the second half of the year and next year will remain fully loaded. About ASP and spot prices have continued to rise.