In the first half of 2026, multiple links in the global semiconductor supply chain synchronously entered a price increase cycle, placing significant pressure on downstream electronics manufacturers' procurement budgets.
Silicon Wafers: Oligopoly and Continuous Price Increases
The global silicon wafer market is monopolized by five giants: Shin-Etsu Chemical, SUMCO, GlobalWafers, Siltronic, and SK Siltron — together controlling >90% of the market. In Q1 and Q2 2026, they executed two rounds of price increases. 12-inch wafers rose 15-20%, 8-inch wafers 10-12%. China's self-sufficiency rate for 12-inch wafers remains low (imports >70%), putting Chinese foundries and IDMs in a passive position.
Memory Chips: Unprecedented Explosion
Riding the explosive AI server demand wave for HBM and DDR5, memory chip manufacturers posted staggering growth in the first half of 2026:
• CXMT: Revenue >+600% YoY, net profit >+2,200%.
• Micron: Revenue +346% YoY, net profit >+1,200%.
• SK Hynix: HBM shipments >+300% YoY, revenue at all-time high.
Memory price increases hit industrial equipment and embedded systems BOM costs especially hard. In a typical industrial controller board, the DRAM+NAND Flash share of the BOM grew from ~8% in 2024 to ~16% in 2026.
Packaging and Testing: Full Utilization, Price Increase Expectations
The three packaging and testing leaders — JCET, Tongfu Microelectronics, Huatian Technology — disclosed large-scale expansion projects in 2026 with combined investments of ~45 billion CNY. But advanced packaging methods for AI chips (CoWoS, FC-BGA) are absorbing the lion's share of capacity. Available capacity for traditional packaging (QFN, BGA, SOP) is shrinking. For small and medium customers, packaging lead times have noticeably lengthened.
Recommendations for Procurement Professionals
In this broad-based price increase cycle, component procurement strategy for electronics manufacturers requires adjustment: early locking of long-term supply agreements (LTAs) for key items, expanding alternative part verification, shifting BOM cost analysis to the design stage, and selecting a contract manufacturer with collective purchasing scale and a global supply chain as a partner.
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