Semico Fab Database: Update Summary 2023

The semiconductor industry is in the midst of a great deal of upheaval in 1Q 2023, brought on by COVID-19 and geopolitical tensions.  With the semiconductor shortages brought on by disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, announcements in new fab projects and expansions reached a fever pitch in 2022.  This has been particularly true of the United States, as companies seek to diversify production away from China.  Moving toward self-sufficiency is a new goal in the wake of the increased level of geopolitical tension around the world.  A number of countries are pledging money to make their countries more self-sufficient in semiconductor supplies, a critical technology for defense operations. 

These developments around the world, in addition to the capital expenditures planned by industry participants, mean a lot of money going toward the semiconductor industry and its supply chain. This study focuses on the current state of the semiconductor fab landscape as well as plans for future fabs that have been announced.  Included with this study is an accompanying Excel spreadsheet, “Semico Fab Database.xlsx,” which encompasses the most current version of our fab database. This report provides a snapshot of a “living” document, as fab statuses and plans are announced all the time. Semico tracks these changes on an ongoing basis and issues an updated report annually. Companies are only included in this writeup if they have made announcements regarding their fabs.

Semico’s fab database includes almost 1,150 entries at the time of this report. In most cases, fabs that were planned, but were then cancelled before they were built, are excluded from this report. The database includes fabs that are planned, under construction, installing tools, operating, closing, and closed.