Global Semiconductor Material Sales Increased by 16% Last Year... South Korea Ranks 3rd (Comprehensive)

The World's Largest Semiconductor Material Consumers: Taiwan, China, Korea, Japan in Order

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Sun-mi] Last year, when semiconductor supply was so tight that demand surged, global semiconductor materials sales also recorded an all-time high. South Korea ranked third in the world with $10.572 billion in sales last year, following Taiwan and China.

On the 18th, the Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI) announced that global semiconductor materials market sales increased by 15.9% last year to reach $64.273 billion. This surpassed the previous record of $55.479 billion set in 2020.

The world's largest consumer of semiconductor materials is Taiwan. Taiwan's semiconductor materials sales grew 15.7% last year to $14.711 billion. With world-class semiconductor foundries and advanced packaging infrastructure, Taiwan has held the number one position globally for 12 consecutive years. China ranked second with $11.929 billion in sales. China's annual semiconductor materials sales growth rate was 21.9%, the fastest growth rate worldwide, indicating the rapid expansion of its semiconductor industry.

South Korea took third place. For the first time last year, South Korea's semiconductor materials sales exceeded $10 billion, recording a 15.9% growth rate and totaling $10.572 billion. Following were Japan with $8.811 billion, other regions (Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, etc.) with $7.810 billion, North America with $6.036 billion, and Europe with $4.414 billion. North America was the only region with a single-digit growth rate in semiconductor materials sales, at 8.5%, compared to other regions.

By material type, wafer materials sales increased by 15.5% to $40.4 billion, and packaging materials sales rose by 16.5% to $23.9 billion.

In particular, wafers are a core material used to make semiconductor substrates, and sales increase as semiconductor production expands on a large scale. Currently, the wafer market is dominated by the world's top five manufacturers, who account for more than 94% of the total market by sales. Among domestic companies, SK Siltron is included. Global wafer manufacturers expect supply shortages to continue at least until 2026 and are competitively announcing expansion investments.

SEMI CEO Ajit Manocha explained, "The global semiconductor materials market recorded an unusually high growth rate last year due to the rapid digital transformation driving a surge in semiconductor demand and the industry's expanded production capacity."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.