SEMI: Global Silicon Wafer Shipments Rose 7.4% Year-Over-Year in Q2 2026

Worldwide shipments of silicon wafers, the thin, engineered discs used as the base material for manufacturing most semiconductors, rose 7.4% year-over-year in the second quarter of 2026, reaching 3,573 million square inches, up from 3,327 million square inches in the same period last year, according to SEMI's Silicon Manufacturers Group. Shipments also grew 9.1% compared to the first quarter of 2026, which came in at 3,275 million square inches.

 

Ginji Yada, chairman of SEMI's Silicon Manufacturers Group and a managing executive officer at SUMCO Corporation, said silicon wafer shipments kept up steady growth in the quarter, driven by strong and expanding AI-related demand that's now extending beyond advanced logic chips and memory into areas like power devices and photonics, which uses light rather than electrical signals to move data. He noted that industrial and automotive demand is also recovering, even as pricing pressure in the memory market is weighing on demand for PCs and smartphones. He added that chip manufacturers are investing heavily in expanding manufacturing capacity, and that silicon wafer demand is expected to keep growing as a result.

 

Silicon wafers serve as the foundational material for the vast majority of semiconductors, which in turn are essential components in virtually all electronic devices. ...