According to the SMG’s year-end analysis of the silicon wafer industry, worldwide silicon revenue jumped 31 percent during the same period, exceeding the $10billion mark for the first time since 2018.
Silicon wafer area shipments in 2018 totalled 12,732 million square inches (MSI), up from the previous market high of 11,810 million square inches shipped during 2017. Revenues totalled $11.38billion, compared to $8.71billion in 2017.
"For the fifth year in a row, annual semiconductor silicon volume shipments reached record levels,” said Neil Weaver, chairman of SEMI SMG, and Director, Product Development and Applications Engineering, at Shin-Etsu Handotai America. "Despite strong demand and the impressive gain in revenues last year, the market still remains below the market high set in 2007."