8-Inch Wafer Foundries Hike Prices

Recently, TrendForce released its latest wafer foundry industry report, highlighting shifts in global production trends. The report shows that as TSMC and Samsung gradually reduce output, even modest capacity expansions from SMIC and Vanguard are unlikely to offset the overall decline. Industry-wide wafer capacity is expected to drop by around 2.4% this year.

At the same time, demand for AI-related power management ICs continues to grow steadily. Combined with early stockpiling in the consumer electronics sector—driven by concerns over rising chip costs and tightening capacity—average 8-inch wafer fab utilization is projected to rebound to 85%–90% in 2026.

Looking ahead, the increasing performance and power efficiency requirements from AI servers and edge AI applications are further boosting power IC demand. This growth is expected to be the main factor supporting 8-inch wafer capacity utilization throughout the year. Moreover, PC and laptop supply chains have already begun early procurement, covering not only power management chips but also non-power components.

With 8-inch wafer capacity expected to shift toward a supply shortage, some foundries have notified clients of planned price adjustments ranging from 5% to 20%. TrendForce emphasizes that unlike 2025, when price hikes were limited to older process nodes or specific platform customers, this adjustment will apply across all customers and all process platforms.

However, uncertainties in consumer market recovery, combined with cost pressures from rising memory and advanced process chips, may moderate the actual increase in 8-inch wafer foundry prices.