MILPITAS, CA – Global shipments of silicon wafers are projected to decline 2% in 2024 to 12.2 billion square inches with a strong rebound of 10% expected in 2025 to reach 13.3 billion square inches as wafer demand continues to recover from the downcycle, SEMI reported in its annual silicon shipment forecast.

Strong silicon wafer shipment growth is expected to continue through 2027 to meet increasing demand related to AI and advanced processing, driving improved fab utilization rate for global semiconductor production capacity. Moreover, new applications in advanced packaging and high-bandwidth memory (HBM) production, which require additional wafers, are contributing to the rising need for silicon wafers. Such applications include temporary or permanent carrier wafers, interposers, device separation into chiplets, and memory/logic array separation.