Semiconductor foundry market growth in 3Q24: 9.1% reaching 34.9 billion

TrendForce in its latest study finds In the third quarter, the total revenue of the world’s top 10 semiconductor wafer foundries increased by 9.1% QoQ—reaching US$34.9 billion. Part of this growth was attributed to the substantial contributions from the high-priced 3 nm process, breaking the record set during the pandemic. TrendForce finds while the overall economic situation did not significantly improve in the third quarter of 2024, factors such as supply chain stocking driven by new smartphone and PC/notebook launches in the second half of the year, coupled with continued strong demand for AI server-related HPC, led to an improvement in overall wafer foundry capacity utilization compared to the second quarter. Looking ahead to the fourth quarter of 2024, TrendForce predicts that advanced processes will continue to drive the revenue of the top 10 foundries, though the QoQ growth rate is expected to narrow slightly. Operational performance is anticipated to be polarized: AI and flagship smartphone/PC main chips are expected to sustain demand for 5/4 nm and 3 nm processes through the end of the year. CoWoS advanced packaging will continue to face supply shortages. For mature processes at 28 nm and above, uncertain end-market sales, the approach of the traditional first-quarter sales lull in 2025, and a significant decline in stocking demand for peripheral ICs such as...