21世纪经济报道·2026-01-21 00:52Core Viewpoint - The article discusses the structural shift in the 8-inch wafer market due to the increasing demand for AI-related chips and the strategic reduction of production capacity by major players like TSMC and Samsung, leading to a supply-demand imbalance and price increases in the industry [1][4]. Group 1: 8-inch Wafer Supply and Demand Dynamics - The global supply of 8-inch wafers is entering a period of imbalance, with a projected 2.4% decline in total production capacity by 2026 due to strategic capacity reductions by TSMC and Samsung [1][3]. - The demand for power management chips driven by AI applications is robust, pushing the average capacity utilization rate in the industry back up to 90% [1][4]. - The shift from overcapacity to price increases is evident, with wafer foundries expected to raise prices by 5% to 20% [1][4]. Group 2: Impact on Chinese Wafer Foundries - Chinese wafer foundries are emerging as key players to fill the global capacity void, benefiting from the structural changes in the market [5][6]. - Major Chinese companies like SMIC have reported significant increases in production capacity, with SMIC's monthly capacity reaching 1.023 million 8-inch equivalent wafers and a utilization rate of 95.8% [7]. - The price of 8-inch chips has increased by approximately 10%, with some orders seeing price hikes of up to 20% due to the tightening supply-demand situation [8]. Group 3: Long-term Trends and Future Outlook - Despite the current boom in 8-inch wafer production, there is a long-term trend of migrating power management and display driver chips to 12-inch nodes, which necessitates that Chinese manufacturers also accelerate their 12-inch specialty process layouts [8][9]. - The global semiconductor industry is expected to increase 12-inch wafer production capacity to a historical high of 9.6 million wafers per month by 2026, driven by strong demand [8][9].