Global semiconductor materials market declined in 2023
Revenues from the global semiconductor materials market in 2023 contracted 8.2% to USD 66.7 billion from the market record of USD 72.7 billion set in 2022, industry association SEMI reports.
Wafer fabrication materials revenue declined 7.0% to USD 41.5 billion in 2023, while packaging materials revenue fell 10.1% to USD 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, according to SEMI.
The industry association points to the softening in demand for semiconductors in 2023 as the culprit. As the industry worked to reduce excess inventory, fab utilization rates got lower – which consequently led to a drop in materials consumption.
Taiwan, with USD 19.2 billion in revenue, was unsurprisingly the world's largest consumer of semiconductor materials – a position its held for fourteen consecutive year. China, at USD 13.1 billion in revenue, continued to register year-over-year growth, ranking second in 2023, while Korea remained the third largest consumer with USD 10.6 billion in revenue. All regions except China posted high single- or double-digit declines in 2023.
| Region | 2023 | 2022 | YoY % growth |
| Taiwan | $19,176 | $20,129 | -4.7% |
| China | $13,085 | $12,970 | 0.9% |
| South Korea | $10,575 | $12,901 | -18.0% |
| Rest of World | $7,177 | $8,627 | -16.8% |
| Japan | $6,828 | $7,205 | -5.2% |
| North America | $5,561 | $6,278 | -11.4% |
| Europe | $4,319 | $4,580 | -5.7% |
| Total | $66,721 | $72,691 | -8% |
(in USD millions)
Rest of the World includes Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, other areas of Southeast Asia, and smaller global markets.
