Production of 300mm semiconductor wafers is projected to reach a new record in 2025, driven by strong growth driven by government support and incentive programs.

SEMI recently released its 300mm Fab Outlook report. According to the report, global 300mm semiconductor production capacity is projected to grow at an average annual rate of 10% from 2022 to 2025, reaching approximately 9.2 million units per month by 2025.

This strong growth is expected to be driven in particular by demand for automotive semiconductors and government funding and incentive programs in major semiconductor-producing countries around the world.

Additionally, to meet market demand, GlobalFoundries, Intel, Micron, Samsung, Skywater Technology, TSMC, and Texas Instruments are expected to announce the construction of new fabs between 2024 and 2025.

“While shortages in certain semiconductor sectors have eased, the supply of semiconductor chips in many sectors remains tight,” said Ajit Manocha, CEO of SEMI. Meanwhile, the semiconductor industry is expanding the capacity of its 300mm fabs to meet long-term demand for new applications,” he said. “SEMI is continuously tracking 67 new 300mm fabs and production lines that are expected to come on line between 2022 and 2025.”

China's share of the global 300mm front-end fab production capacity is expected to increase from 19% in 2021 to 23% in 2025, driven by the Chinese government's support for its domestic semiconductor industry, with monthly wafer production expected to reach 2.3 million sheets in 2025. With this growth, the current 300mm fab production capacity in China is showing high growth, and the current second-largest region is expected to overtake Taiwan next year.

Taiwan's share of global production capacity is projected to decline to 21% in 2025, a 1% decrease from 2021.

Korea's production capacity share in 2025 is also expected to decrease by 1 percentage point compared to 2021, reaching 24%.

Japan's share is expected to decline from 15% in 2021 to 12% in 2025 due to growth in other regions and intensifying global competition.

The US share of 300mm fab production capacity is expected to increase from 8% in 2021 to 9% in 2025, driven by the US Chips Act and incentive policies.

Europe and the Middle East are also expected to see a rise from 6% in 2021 to 7% in 2025, driven by European chip laws and incentive policies, similar to those in the United States.

Southeast Asia is expected to maintain a 5% share during the same period.

Power semiconductors are expected to show the highest average annual growth rate by product type from 2021 to 2025, with an average growth rate of 39%.

Next, the average annual growth rate is expected to be 37% for analog semiconductors, 14% for foundries, 7% for optical semiconductors, and 5% for memory semiconductors.

SEMI's 300mm Fab Outlook report, cited in this announcement, tracks 356 fabs and production lines currently under construction and planned for the future.