In its latest quarterly analysis of the silicon wafer industry, SEMI’s Silicon Manufacturers Group (SMG) reported that global silicon wafer shipments increased by 13.1% year-on-year to 3,275 million square inches (MSI) from the 2,896 MSI recorded during Q1 2025. Sequentially, shipments declined by 4.7% quarter-over-quarter from the 3,437 MSI recorded during Q4 2025 in line with typical seasonality.
Silicon wafer demand related to artificial intelligence (AI) data centers continues to be strong (including advanced logic and memory) and also now extending to power management devices. Overall, silicon wafer demand has improved, but the recovery is not uniform. Many device companies have noted improvements in the industrial semiconductor segment, creating a more broad-based recovery as wafer inventory is absorbed. Weaker smartphone and PC shipments in Q1 2026 may show the impact of tighter supply of memory due to AI high-bandwidth memory (HBM) allocation decisions.
Click here for more detailed report information or visit SEMI Worldwide Silicon Wafer Shipment Statistics.