Annual silicon volume shipments remain at record highs

Worldwide silicon wafer area shipments increased 3% in 2016 when compared to 2015 area shipments, while silicon revenues increased by 1% on year, according to SEMI.

Silicon wafer area shipments in 2016 totaled 10.738 billion square inches, up from the previous market high of 10.434 billion square inches shipped during 2015, said SEMI. Revenues totaled US$7.21 billion, 1% higher from the US$7.15 billion posted in 2015.

"Annual semiconductor silicon volume shipments reached record levels for the third year in a row," said Chungwei Lee, chairman SEMI SMG and corporate Development VP of GlobalWafers. "However, despite historical shipment highs, the same cannot be said about silicon revenue. The market remains well below pre-downturn levels."