Worldwide silicon wafer shipments increase 3% year-on-year in Q3-2025

SEMI Silicon Manufacturers Group (SMG) reported in its quarterly analysis of the silicon wafer industry, that worldwide silicon wafer shipments increased 3.1% year-on-year to 3,313 million square inches (MSI) from the 3,214 MSI recorded during the same quarter of 2024. 

Sequentially, shipments slipped 0.4% quarter-over-quarter from the 3,327 MSI recorded during the second quarter of this year indicating softness in recovery particularly for epitaxial wafers slices.

"January through September silicon shipments registered a significant year-on-year increase primarily driven by the growth of 300 mm shipments for advanced logic, cloud infrastructure, and memory demand," said Lee Chungwei, Chairman of SEMI SMG, and VP and Chief Auditor at GlobalWafers. "AI empowers significant investments expansion in advanced processes contributing to the wafer demand growth."

Silicon wafers are the fundamental building material for the majority of semiconductors, which are vital components of all electronic devices. The highly engineered thin disks are produced in diameters of up to 300 mm and serve as the substrate material on which most semiconductors are fabricated.

The SMG is a sub-committee of the SEMI Electronic Materials Group (EMG) and is open to SEMI members involved in manufacturing polycrystalline silicon, monocrystalline silicon or silicon wafers (e.g., as cut, polished, epitaxial). The SMG facilitates collective efforts on issues related to the silicon industry, including the development of statistics about the silicon industry.