The International Semiconductor Industry Association (SEMI) said today (21) that as the Russian-Ukrainian war continues to threaten the supply of raw materials such as key special gases for semiconductors, the world may continue to face the problem of global chip shortages by 2024, and warned the future of wafer fabs Potential risks after massive expansion.
Ajit Manocha, president and CEO of SEMI, said that after the Russian-Ukrainian war, chipmakers are actively looking for sources of key semiconductor raw materials outside Ukraine. However, it is not easy to establish alternative sources outside Ukraine at present. Ukraine is a major supplier of special gases for semiconductors, of which the market share of semiconductor-grade neon gas is as high as 99%.
Manocha expects that due to the scarcity of semiconductor raw materials and the rapid growth of demand for chips stimulated by digitalization, it is expected that the bottleneck of the global supply chain will not recover until 2024. At the same time, the average delivery time of semiconductor equipment manufacturers has also increased from 3-4 months to 10-12 months.
Manocha said that 92 fabs will come online in the next few years to meet the surge in chip demand. It is expected that the shortage of chips may not improve until all factories are gradually put into production, but after a large number of expansions, it may lead to the next two years. The supply and demand situation eased considerably and became “more balanced”.
