Silicon wafer shipment area in 1Q 2025 increased 2.2% year-on-year, but decreased 9.0% quarter-on-quarter due to inventory adjustments and seasonal factors, with a clear difference between the trends of 300mm and small-diameter wafers.
🟦 Semiconductor materials market on recovery track in 2024 – Global expansion, Japan the only slowdown
According to a SEMI report, the global semiconductor materials market is expected to reach $67.5 billion in 2024, up 3.8% from the previous year . This is due to the growing manufacturing demand for advanced areas such as high-performance computing (HPC) and high-bandwidth memory (HBM), which is driving market growth.
The main figures are as follows:
- Global market size : $67.5 billion (up 3.8% from the previous year)
- Front-end materials (wafer processing, etc.) : $42.9 billion (+3.3%)
- Finished goods (packaging, etc.) : $24.6 billion (+4.7%)
- Strong growth in material areas : CMP, photoresists, and photoresist-related materials (double-digit growth)
Meanwhile, the Japanese market is as follows:
- Japanese market size : $6.5 billion ( -3.2% compared to the previous year )
🟦 Factors behind growth and the background to Japan’s decline
Behind this recovery is the recovery of the semiconductor market, which had been in a slump through 2023, as well as growing demand for high-performance chips for AI and cloud computing, which has led to increased demand for advanced materials for advanced manufacturing.
On the other hand, areas that saw a decrease include:
- Silicon wafers : -7.1% compared to the previous year
- SOI wafers : Decreased (specific figures not disclosed)
Market size by region (2024):
- Taiwan : $20.1 billion (+7.2%) *Top ranking for 15 consecutive years
- China : $13.5 billion (+5.3%)
- South Korea : $10.5 billion (+0.8%)
- Japan : $6.5 billion (-3.2%) *The only country to experience negative growth
🟦 Summary
The semiconductor materials market is expected to recover globally in 2024, with growing demand for advanced materials boosting the overall market, but Japan is the only exception, recording a contraction in its market. This fact provides important insights into future industrial strategies and investment decisions.
Turning from negative growth to positive in a year is a positive sign for the industry as a whole
