ITRI raises output growth forecast for Taiwan semiconductors

Taipei, Aug. 16 (CNA) The government-supported Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) has raised its forecast for 2025 growth in the output value of Taiwan's semiconductor industry to above 22 percent on strong global demand for artificial intelligence applications.

In its latest IEK Current Quarterly Model report, the ITRI said the local semiconductor industry will have output of NT$6.5 trillion (US$216.67 billion) in 2025, up 22.2 percent from a year earlier, an upward revision from a 19.1 percent increase estimate made in May.

The ITRI said the strong showing of the local semiconductor industry largely reflected the stronger-than-expected performance of the IC manufacturing segment.

The ITRI forecast came after Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the world's largest contract chipmaker, raised its forecast of sales growth to 30 percent in 2025 from a previous estimate of 24-26 percent.

TSMC attributed the higher guidance to the greater computing power needed for emerging AI applications, which has driven higher global demand for advanced chips.

According to the ITRI, the IC manufacturing sector will generate NT$4.36 trillion in output in 2025, up 27.5 percent from a year earlier, compared with an earlier estimate of a 23.1 percent increase.

The output value of the pure foundry wafer business, where TSMC has taken the lead over its peers globally, is expected to reach NT$4.16 trillion, up 28.3 percent from a year earlier, the ITRI said.

In 2025, the IC packaging segment is expected to see its output rising 13.5 percent from a year earlier to NT$480.3 billion, while the IC testing segment is expected to post NT$230.5 billion in output, up 15.2 percent from a year earlier, the ITRI report showed.

The IC design segment is expected to grow 12.1 percent in 2025 to an output value of NT$1.42 trillion, and down from 13.9 percent growth previously estimated, the ITRI said.

In the second quarter, Taiwan's semiconductor industry posted an output value of NT$1.6 trillion, up 7.4 percent from a quarter earlier.

The IC manufacturing segment was the best performer in the industry, with NT$1.06 trillion in output, up 10.4 percent from a quarter earlier, the ITRI said.

The institute said the production value of the local semiconductor industry is expected to rise to about NT$1.68 trillion in the third quarter, up 4.8 percent from a quarter earlier, while the output of the IC manufacturing segment is forecast to hit NT$1.15 trillion, up 7.3 percent from the second quarter.