TapTechNews May 28th, sources disclosed to the South Korean media ZDNetKorea that the global foundry industry is emerging from last year's industry trough, and the overall capacity utilization rate has recently reached approximately 70%.
In 2023, the operating rate of wafer foundries in the semiconductor industry is below the major threshold of 70%, and the capacity utilization rate of 8-inch mature wafer foundries is only 50% to 60%, but this situation has gradually improved since the end of last year.
Sources said that according to the current recovery speed, the capacity utilization rate of logic and memory wafer foundries in the second half of the year will exceed 80%, but it will still be lower than the previous peak of 90%.
By category, advanced logic foundries have benefited from the demand for AI logic chips, and the capacity utilization rate has reached 80% to 90%; DRAM memory wafer foundries have also reached 70% to 80% due to the good market of AI memory such as HBM.
NAND flash wafer foundries are slightly worse and are still at a level slightly higher than 50%. Considering the gradual emergence of the demand for large-capacity storage in AI applications, the capacity utilization rate in the future will continue to rise.
TapTechNews learned from the recent report of TrendForce that the capacity utilization rate of Taiwanese wafer foundry enterprises is also expected to usher in a new wave of improvement in the second half of the year:
Among them, the capacity utilization rate of Vanguard International Semiconductor (VIS) will reach more than 75%; the capacity utilization rate of Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (PSMC)'s 12-inch will reach 85% to 90%; and the overall capacity utilization rate of United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) can reach 70% to 75%.
Another industry insider said in the South Korean media report that an 80% capacity utilization rate is regarded as a sign for wafer foundries to start new equipment purchases, and the recovery of the overall utilization rate of wafer foundries is expected to drive investment in the semiconductor equipment field.