The SEMI Silicon Manufacturers Group (SMG) reported that worldwide silicon wafer shipments rose 13.1% year-on-year to 3,275 million square inches (MSI) in the first quarter of 2026, compared to 2,896 MSI in the same quarter of 2025. Shipments fell 4.7% sequentially from 3,437 MSI in the fourth quarter of 2025, consistent with typical seasonality.
“Silicon wafer demand related to AI data centers continues to be strong, including advanced logic and memory, and also now extending to power management devices,” said Ginji Yada, Chairman of SEMI SMG and Managing Executive Officer, General Manager, Sales and Marketing Division at SUMCO Corporation. “Overall, silicon wafer demand has improved, but the recovery is not uniform. Many device companies have noted improvements in the industrial semiconductor segment, and this is creating a more broad-based recovery as wafer inventory is absorbed. Weaker smartphone and PC shipments in the first quarter of this year may show the impact of tighter supply of memory due to AI high bandwidth memory (HBM) allocation decisions.”
