Asian Tech Press (Oct 27) -- Global silicon wafer shipments are expected to decline by 14% in 2023, SEMI, an international semiconductor industry association, said Thursday.

Global silicon wafer shipments are expected to drop 14% this year due to continued weakness in semiconductor demand and macroeconomic conditions, SEMI said in its annual silicon shipment forecast report.

It said global wafer shipments hit a record 14,565 million square inches (MSI) in 2022 and are expected to fall to 12,512 MSI in 2023.

SEMI predicted that global silicon wafer shipments are expected to rebound 8.5% to 13,578 MSI in 2024 as applications such as artificial intelligence (AI), high-performance computing (HPC), 5G, and automotive rive demand for silicon chips.

This rebound will continue through 2026, with shipments expected to exceed 16,214 MSI, the forecast noted.