Major Japanese Manufacturers Stopped Producing 200mm Wafers

Japanese wafer maker SUMCO said in February that it would halt production of 200mm wafers at its Miyazaki plant in 2026.

SUMCO Corporation announced a major restructuring of its small-diameter wafer production in response to changing semiconductor market demands. The company explained the decision in a press release, noting that demand for silicon wafers has been chronically sluggish. Contributing factors to this downturn include the decline in unusual demand during the pandemic and structural changes in the semiconductor supply chain due to US-China trade tensions. Although demand for cutting-edge AI and high-performance memory chips is expected to rise, sales of small-diameter wafers – especially for consumer, industrial and automotive applications – remain weak.

In its FY2024 financial report, SUMCO analyzed that the demand for silicon wafers for 300mm products is gradually recovering. Wafer shipments of 200mm and smaller sizes are expected to continue to be slow due to increased competition from China and weak demand for consumer, industrial and automotive applications.

Demand for 150mm and smaller wafers is expected to decline, as customers move to 200mm wafers or reduce production capacity as manufacturing equipment reaches the end of its useful life.

Source: SUMCO FY2024

In order to adapt to this change, SUMCO said it will reorganize the Miyazaki plant to improve efficiency by consolidating production capacity for small wafers. The Miyazaki plant will become a dedicated monocrystalline production plant, 200mm wafer production will be transferred to the factories in Nagasaki and Imari, 150mm wafer production will be transferred to the factory in Indonesia, and 125mm wafer production and other sizes will be halted due to unprofitability.

As a result of this restructuring, the business restructuring expenses for fiscal 2024 have been included in non-recurring losses totaling 5.8 billion yen, including impairment losses on non-current assets of 4.6 billion yen and inventory write-downs of 1.2 billion yen.

SUMCO also noted that with the acceleration of semiconductor technology innovation, in addition to the strategic use of advanced manufacturing equipment that is currently being prepared for operation, we will focus our management resources on the equipment modernization of the existing 300mm factory and improve our ability to provide cutting-edge products for artificial intelligence with significant growth potential, and strive to further enhance our corporate value.