TSMC to push US to No. 2 in IC production in 2027

Daniel Nenni · Nov 26, 2024

TECH BOOST: New TSMC wafer fabs in Arizona are to dramatically improve US advanced chip production, a report by market research firm TrendForce said

With Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) pouring large funds into Arizona, the US is expected to see an improvement in its status to become the second-largest maker of advanced semiconductors in 2027, Taipei-based market researcher TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said in a report last week.

TrendForce estimates the US would account for a 21 percent share in the global advanced integrated circuit (IC) production market by 2027, sharply up from the current 9 percent, as TSMC is investing US$65 billion to build three wafer fabs in Arizona, the report said.

TrendForce defined the advanced chipmaking processes as the 7-nanometer process or more sophisticated technologies.

People walk out of the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) Museum of Innovation at its headquarters in Hsinchu on Thursday.
Photo: I-Hwa CHENG / AFP

The 3nm process is the latest technology TSMC has launched, with mass production in Tainan, while the chipmaker is developing the more sophisticated 2nm and even 1.4nm processes.

For Taiwan, its share of advanced IC processes in the global market is expected to fall to 54 percent in 2027 from the current 71 percent, although the country would retain the number one spot in 2027, the report said.

South Korea is likely to see its market share fall to 9 percent in 2027 from the current 11 percent, with its ranking expected to fall to third place from the current second, it said.

TSMC is building two advanced fabs in Arizona.

The first is scheduled to start mass production using its 4nm process in early next year, while the second is slated to mass-produce wafers using the 3nm and 2nm processes in 2028.

The company also plans to build a third fab in Arizona using the 2nm process or more advanced technology, with production slated to start by the end of 2030.

Ray Yang (楊瑞臨), an international strategy development consulting director at the government-sponsored Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI, 工業技術研究院), said after US president-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House in January, the US government is expected to further push for “Made in America” initiatives by cutting business taxes and raising tariffs to build a more comprehensive semiconductor ecosystem.

According to a projection made by the Boston Consulting Group, the US would triple its domestic semiconductor manufacturing capacity in 2032 compared with 2022, when the CHIPS and Science Act went into effect.

The consulting firm also projected capital expenditure in semiconductors in the US would account for more than one-quarter, or 28 percent, of the global total between next year and 2032.