Silicon wafer pricing seen rising over 30 percent this year

Macronix International chairman Miin Wu recently stated that pricing of silicon wafers is expected to soar more than 30 percent this year. This isn't the first time we've reported about the wafer shortage. Supply is unable to keep up with demand and this is pushing prices upward. How much this will impact the pricing of end products is unknown as the cost of a blank wafer is relatively small versus the finalized product.

Prices for upstream wafers will rise more than 30% in 2018, according to Miin Wu, chairman for Taiwan-based Macronix International, a supplier of flash memory and mask ROM chips.

Macronix has secured wafer supplies for 2018 from Japan-based Sumco and Taiwan's GlobalWafers, said Wu, adding that prices for purchasing the wafers have also been set already.

Wu also commented that the global supply of certain NOR flash products will remain tight in 2018. There was a shortage of all NOR flash chips during 2017.