Silicon wafer prices are rising for the first time in three years, with double-digit increases reported across 6-inch, 8-inch, and 12-inch sizes by South Korean and Taiwanese media.
Taiwan’s United Daily News first reported the wave, which lifts prices at GlobalWafers, Tainxin Semiconductor, and Wafer Works. GlobalWafers said demand is improving and inventory adjustments look healthier than a year ago, while the other two suppliers confirmed they are negotiating price changes with customers. Some makers have already tabled double-digit increases for 12-inch polished wafers under their six-month negotiation cycle.
Analysts tie the surge to AI-driven demand: as advanced AI chips pull more mature-process work, utilization at legacy fabs is climbing and recovery is working up the supply chain to wafer suppliers.
For memory makers the timing is awkward. Samsung’s DX division already posted a KRW 800B operating loss in the second quarter on memory price spikes, and wafer increases add another layer of cost before chips are even patterned. SK hynix faces the same squeeze.
The clear beneficiary is SK Siltron, the Doosan-owned unit ranked third in 300mm wafers behind Japan’s Shin-Etsu and SUMCO, with Samsung and SK hynix as its main customers. Eight-inch wafer pricing is negotiated annually, with double-digit increases for next year expected to be settled in the fourth quarter.
