Taiwan has maintained its dominant position in the global semiconductor materials market for the 15th consecutive year, according to a report released on 28th April, by Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI).

The industry trade group reported that global semiconductor materials revenues rebounded to US$ 67.5 billion in 2024, representing a 3.8% increase, with Taiwan generating US$20.1 billion of that total. The industry's resurgence is attributed to increased demand for advanced technologies, as explained in SEMI's statement.

Specifically, growth in semiconductor material revenues was driven by the higher production of High-Bandwidth Memory (HBM) - critical for artificial intelligence applications - and components for high-performance computing (HPC) systems, which support today's most demanding technological applications.

Breaking down the market segments, SEMI reported that wafer fabrication materials, the foundation of semiconductor production, grew by 3.3%, reaching US$ 42.9 billion.

Meanwhile, packaging materials experienced even stronger growth of 4.7%, totalling US$ 24.6 billion.

The report attributed significant demand increases to advanced memory technologies such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM), 3D NAND Flash, and sophisticated logic integrated circuits, which drove growth in specialised manufacturing materials, including chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) compounds and photoresists.

Despite the overall positive trajectory, SEMI highlighted a notable concern: the silicon wafer market faced substantial challenges as demand contracted.

Silicon wafer revenues fell by 7.1% as manufacturers continued to reduce excess inventory, particularly in mature semiconductor process segments. The report also revealed the shifting global landscape, with China securing the second position worldwide at US$ 13.5 billion in materials revenue, followed by South Korea with US$ 10.5 billion (NTD 339.2 billion).