The global foundry industry saw its revenues perform brilliantly in 2022, breaking US$140 billion thanks to a chip supply-demand imbalance and the fact that customers are signing long-term agreements (LTA) to secure their supply.
However, the 2023 revenues may slip from 2022 because of factors including the global economy has continued to weaken, the consumer electronics industry is taking longer to correct its inventory than expected, chip demand remains sluggish and geopolitical influences stay fierce.
The industry is expected to return to growth in 2024, but chip demand in the year is still expected to be covered with uncertainties.
Chart 1: Global economic growth by major institutes, 2021-2024
Chart 2: Key consumer electronics product shipment growth, 2019-2023
Chart 3: Monthly semiconductor sales of key regions, 1Q20-2Q23 (US$b)
Chart 4: Global top-5 foundries combined capex, 2019-2023 (US$b)
Chart 5: Global total foundry capacity, 2020-2023 (k units of 8-inch wafer)
Chart 7: Global total foundry revenue estimates, 2019-2024 (US$b)
Table 4: Main participants of the global semiconductor industry