The global semiconductor materials market touched $64.3 billion in revenue in 2021, growing at 15.9%. It surpassed the previous market high of $55.5 billion set in 2020, reported SEMI in its Markets Market Data Subscription (MMDS).
Last year, wafer fabrication materials and packaging materials revenues amounted to $40.4 billion and $23.9 billion, respectively, for year-over-year increases of 15.5% and 16.5%. The silicon, wet chemicals, chemical-mechanical planarization (CMP), and photomask segments showed the strongest growth in the wafer fabrication materials market, while packaging materials market growth was largely driven by the organic substrates, leadframes, and bonding wire segments.
“The global semiconductor materials market saw exceptional growth in 2021 on the strength of robust secular demand for chips and the industry’s expansion of production capacity,” said Ajit Manocha, president and CEO of SEMI. “All regions registered double-digit or high single-digit growth last year to meet historic demand for electronics as digital transformation continues apace.”
For the 12th consecutive year, Taiwan, at $14.7 billion, was the world’s largest consumer of semiconductor materials on the strength of its foundry capacity and advanced packaging base. China registered the strongest absolute year-over-year growth in 2021 to rank second, while Korea remained the third largest consumer of semiconductor materials.
