Wafer demand will grow by 7.4 percent in 2014

PHOENIX, USA: In 2014, semiconductor units are expected to grow over 5 percent to reach a new record, and wafer demand growth is a direct result of these numbers. Every quarter, Semico releases our Quarterly Wafer Demand Forecast & Summary to analyze changes in the market so you can strategize for the next quarter.

"As expected during the first half of 2014, semiconductor sales were robust," says Joanne Itow, Semico's MD. "Unit sales in wireless communication continue to be strong as smartphone manufactures prepare to rollout new phone models in the fall."

The Semico unit forecast is one of the main inputs to the wafer demand model.  Other inputs include process technology by product, die sizes, yields and wafer size. On a regular basis, Semico analyzes semiconductor products by manufacturing technology, die size, yields, and technology roadmaps.  This information is based on data collection over the past 20 years and interviews with hundreds of companies. Semico performs this data collection for a wide variety of semiconductor device types.

Some of the key findings include:
* Wafer demand is expected to grow by 7.4 percent in 2014.
* Mobile DRAM will see high growth.
* Total wafer demand will grow to over 200 million 200mm wafer equivalents.
* Total memory wafer demand will increase by 4.2 percent in 2014.