San Jose, CA. Worldwide silicon wafer area shipments increased during the third quarter 2016 when compared with second quarter 2016 area shipments according to the SEMI Silicon Manufacturers Group (SMG) in its quarterly analysis of the silicon wafer industry.

Total silicon wafer area shipments were 2,730 million square inches during the most recent quarter, a 0.9% increase from the 2,706 million square inches shipped during the previous quarter. New quarterly total area shipments are 5.4% higher than third quarter 2015 shipments and are at their highest recorded quarterly level.

“Global silicon wafer demand continued to grow during this quarter,” said Dr. Volker Braetsch, chairman SEMI SMG and senior vice president of Siltronic AG. “Year-to-date shipments are trending slightly above the same period as last year.”

Silicon Area Shipment Trends

Total

All data cited in this release is inclusive of polished silicon wafers, including virgin test wafers and epitaxial silicon wafers, as well as non-polished silicon wafers shipped by the wafer manufacturers to the end-users.

The Silicon Manufacturers Group acts as an independent special interest group within the SEMI structure and is open to SEMI members involved in manufacturing polycrystalline silicon, monocrystalline silicon, or silicon wafers (cut, polished, epi, etc.). The purpose of the group is to facilitate collective efforts on issues related to the silicon industry including the development of market information and statistics about the silicon industry and the semiconductor market.