A few days ago, there was news that several major foundries around the world raised their foundry prices by 10-20% in the second quarter from the previous quarter, and the overall increase was similar to that in the first quarter. But judging from individual contracts, some foundry prices have risen by as much as 50%.

According to Korean media ETNews, a person in charge of a South Korean Fabless factory quoted: "Our customers demand increased product supply, so we renewed the contract with the OEM at a price that was 50% higher. Because they obviously can't provide us at the previous price. Number of wafers."

At the same time, some Fabless fabs have been notified that foundry prices will increase by 10% in January next year. Confirm in advance the price increase for the next year's contract, which is rare in previous years.

The price increase is mainly due to the growing demand for analog chips, power semiconductors and display driver chips, as well as the long-term shortage of 8-inch foundry production capacity and the limited production capacity of the industry.

A Korean foundry executive said, “At present, our current capacity is not yet able to accept orders from all customers. As the demand for fabless plants increases, the overall price of the foundry market is rising.”

However, it is not easy to expand production to solve the supply shortage and requires large-scale investment, which has brought a heavy burden to the foundry. Although some idle space can increase production equipment, due to the soaring price of semiconductor equipment, it is difficult for OEMs to purchase willingly.

A person in charge of a semiconductor equipment distributor said, "At present, even the price of second-hand 8-inch semiconductor equipment has jumped to a new high. Delivery time has exceeded 12 months."