MILPITAS, Calif. – May 14, 2024 – The global semiconductor manufacturing industry in the first quarter of 2024 showed signs of improvement with an uptick in electronic sales, stabilizing inventories and an increase in installed wafer fab capacity, SEMI announced today in its Q1 2024 publication of the Semiconductor Manufacturing Monitor (SMM) Report, prepared in partnership with TechInsights. Stronger industry growth is expected in the second half of the year.
In Q1 2024, electronic sales rose 1% year-over-year (YoY), with Q2 2024 forecast to register a 5% YoY increase. IC sales posted robust 22% YoY growth in Q1 2024 and are expected to surge 21% in Q2 2024 as s
hipments of high-performance computing (HPC) chips increase and memory pricing continues to improve. IC inventory levels stabilized in Q1 2024 and are expected to improve this quarter.
Installed wafer fab capacity continues to increase and is projected to exceed 40 million wafers per quarter (in 300mm wafer equivalent), rising 1.2% in Q1 2024 with an expected 1.4% uptick in Q2 2024. China continues to log the highest capacity growth among all regions. However, fab utilization rates, particularly for mature nodes, remain a concern with little signs of recovery expected in the first half of 2024. Memory utilization rates were lower than expected in Q1 2024 due to disciplined supply control.
In line with fab utilization trends, semiconductor capital expenditures remain conservative. After falling 17% YoY in Q4 2023, capital expenditures continued to pull back 11% in Q1 2024 before eking out an expected 0.7% gain in Q2 2024. Sequentially in Q2 2024, the trend is turning positive with an expected 8% increase in memory-related capital expenditures as they see slightly stronger growth than non-memory segments.
“Demand in some semiconductor segments is recovering, but the pace of recovery is uneven,” said Clark Tseng, Senior Director of Market Intelligence at SEMI. “AI chips and high-bandwidth memory are currently among devices in the highest demand, leading to increased investment and capacity expansion in these areas. However, the impact of AI chips on IC shipment growth remains limited due to their reliance on a small number of key suppliers.”
“Semiconductor demand in the first half of 2024 is mixed, with memory and logic rebounding due to surging generative AI demand,” said Boris Metodiev, Director of Market Analysis at TechInsights. “However, analog, discrete, and optoelectronics have experienced a slight correction due to the slow recovery of the consumer market coupled with a pullback in demand from the automotive and industrial markets.”
“A full-on recovery is likely to take hold in the second half of the year with the projected boost in consumer demand by AI’s expansion to the edge,” Metodiev said. “Additionally, the automotive and industrial markets are expected to return to growth in the latter part of the year as interest rates fall – providing consumers more purchasing power – and inventory declines.”


Sources: SEMI (semi.huihuidehui.workers.dev) and TechInsights (www.techinsights.com), May 2024
The Semiconductor Manufacturing Monitor (SMM) report provides end-to-end data on the worldwide semiconductor manufacturing industry. The report highlights key trends based on industry indicators including capital equipment, fab capacity, and semiconductor and electronics sales, and includes a capital equipment market forecast. The SMM report also contains two years of quarterly data and a one-quarter outlook for the semiconductor manufacturing supply chain including leading IDM, fabless, foundry, and OSAT companies. An SMM subscription includes quarterly reports.
Download a sample Semiconductor Manufacturing Monitor report.
For more information on the report or to subscribe, please contact the SEMI Market Intelligence Team at [email protected]. Details on SEMI market data are available at SEMI Market Data.
About SEMI
SEMI® is the global industry association connecting over 3,000 member companies and 1.5 million professionals worldwide across the semiconductor and electronics design and manufacturing supply chain. We accelerate member collaboration on solutions to top industry challenges through Advocacy, Workforce Development, Sustainability, Supply Chain Management and other programs. Our SEMICON® expositions and events, technology communities, standards and market intelligence help advance our members’ business growth and innovations in design, devices, equipment, materials, services and software, enabling smarter, faster, more secure electronics. Visit semi.huihuidehui.workers.dev, contact a regional office, and connect with SEMI on LinkedIn and X to learn more.
Association Contact
Michael Hall/SEMI
Phone: 1.408.943.7988
Email: [email protected]
Featuring keynotes by thought leaders from IBM, Wolfspeed, and Semiconductor Advisors, ASMC 2024 is the premier event where industry professionals network and share insights into best practices for semiconductor manufacturing. The conference is co-chaired by Bradley Wood, Applications Engineering Manager, CMP Filtration at Entegris, and Vijayalakshmi Seshachalam, CVD Process Manager at GlobalFoundries.
The SEMI North America Advisory Board selects SEMI Americas Government Leadership Award honorees based on their impact on policies and incentives to bolster semiconductor design and manufacturing in the Americas region and advance the growth of the global industry.
The report leveraged
Wafer fabrication materials revenue declined 7.0% to $41.5 billion in 2023, while packaging materials revenue fell 10.1% to $25.2 billion last year. The silicon, photoresist ancillaries, wet chemicals, and chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) segments logged the biggest contractions in the wafer fabrication materials market. The organic substrates segment accounted for much of the packaging materials market contraction.

“The continuing decline in IC fab utilization and inventory adjustment led to negative growth across all wafer sizes in Q1 2024, with polished wafer shipments falling slightly more year-over-year than EPI wafer shipments,” said Lee Chungwei (李崇偉), Chairman of SEMI SMG and Vice President and Chief Auditor at GlobalWafers. “Notably, utilization by some fabs bottomed out in Q4 2023 as growing AI adoption fueled rising demand for advanced node logic products and memory for data centers.”
Themed Materials Resilience: Navigating Challenges, Embracing Opportunities, SMC Korea 2024 will feature 14 global visionaries presenting on advanced materials, technology trends, sustainability and market forecasts to approximately 400 semiconductor industry professionals.
“SEMI applauds the U.S. Department of Commerce for this latest step to enhance the resilience of the domestic semiconductor supply chain and supply of advanced chips,” said Joe Stockunas, President of SEMI Americas. “The CHIPS and Science Act investment will enable Samsung Electronics to grow its manufacturing footprint in Texas while supporting the buildout of an ecosystem with advanced packaging and R&D capabilities.”
Sponsored by organizations including
“We applaud the U.S. Department of Commerce for taking this significant step to enhance the resilience of the domestic semiconductor supply chain,” said Joe Stockunas, President of SEMI Americas. “This CHIPS and Science Act award is a key stride towards a 2-nanometer process, positioning the United States to produce the most advanced semiconductor chips at scale in order to advance global supply chain stability and help meet worldwide chip demand across various markets.”