Weekly Industry Highlights (Weekly 2 for 2025)

Market:DRAM, Power Semiconductors

01. Memory semiconductor prices fall, strong demand for AI-driven high-value products

General memory semiconductor prices are expected to fall across the board in the first quarter of this year due to oversupply, with DRAM prices set to fall by 8 to 13 per cent and NAND flash prices by 10 to 15 per cent. Increased inventory levels and deteriorating order demand are the main reasons for this, and the price drop is also fuelled by laptop makers increasing their inventories in advance in anticipation of tariffs, market research firm TrendForce said on 1 January. However, strong demand for high-value products such as high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and enterprise solid-state drives (SSDs) in the AI market will partially offset this trend, and a repeat of the semiconductor recession of 2023 is not expected.

02. SiC and GaN to Drive Power Semiconductor Market Growth by 2025

The Power Semiconductors Market Outlook to 2025 published by TechInsights states that Silicon Carbide (SiC) is expanding from data centres to electric vehicle chargers, solar energy, energy storage and industrial applications due to its high efficiency, compact design and cost-effectiveness. The automotive industry is the major driver and the SiC market size is expected to exceed USD 2 billion by 2025. To meet the demand, the industry is shifting to 200mm wafers to increase capacity and reduce costs.

The data centre market is undergoing major changes driven by artificial intelligence, and the computing semiconductor market is expected to reach $239 billion in 2025, boosting demand for power semiconductors. Gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductors in the consumer power sector due to fast charging and USB power transfer needs and growth, but the market size is still less than $ 1 billion.

03. South Korea's Export Revenues Hit Record High in 2024, Driven by Demand for Semiconductors

South Korea's export revenue soared to a record high of US$683.76 billion in 2024, fuelled by strong demand for locally produced semiconductors and other tech products, it was reported on 1 January. The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Resources (MITR) reported an 8.2 per cent increase from the previous year, surpassing the record $683.6 billion set in 2022. The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Resources (MITR) reported an increase of 8.2 per cent compared to the previous year, surpassing the record of $683.6 billion set in 2022. 8 out of the 15 major export categories showed growth.

Notably, semiconductor exports surged 43.9 per cent to a record $141.92 billion, largely due to high demand for advanced chips such as DDR5 and high-bandwidth memory used in generating artificial intelligence technology.

Original Manufacturer Updates:NXP, Micron

04. NXP's automotive business accounts for more than 50 per cent of total revenue

On 31 December 2024, NXP highlighted that its automotive division is expected to achieve revenues of $7.1 billion in 2024, representing 57% of the company's total sales.

NXP's automotive business is a market leader in areas such as in-vehicle processors, radar systems and connected car solutions. Its products are critical in driving smart driving, electrification and software-defined vehicles (SDVs), and it continues to build on its leadership position through a comprehensive product portfolio and strong technical expertise.

NXP's automotive business is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8-12 per cent between 2024 and 2027 to reach $9.5 billion by 2027. Single-vehicle semiconductor content is expected to grow in the mid-to-high single digits, driven primarily by electrification and vehicle intelligence requirements.

05. Littelfuse Completes Acquisition of Elmos' Dortmund Fab for €93 Million

On 1 January, Littelfuse acquired Elmos Semiconductor's 200mm wafer fab in Dortmund, Germany, for 93 million euros (about $101 million) to boost its power semiconductor production capacity to meet the needs of energy storage, automation and renewable energy.

Littelfuse and Elmos signed a capacity-sharing agreement until 2029, Elmos will buy some of the wafers, to ensure that it meets the needs of the automotive Elmos previously planned to be sold to the Swedish Silex, and then chose to work with Littelfuse.

Elmos sees the sale as an important milestone, and as a fabless company, it will be able to focus on the growth of automotive IC applications by gaining access to advanced manufacturing capabilities through partners in the future.

06. Micron to Invest $2.17 Billion to Expand U.S. DRAM Production

On 2 January, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin announced that Micron Technology will invest $2.17 billion to expand its semiconductor facility in Manassas, Virginia, SemiMedia reported. The expansion is intended to increase DRAM production for industrial, automotive, aerospace and defence applications and create 340 new jobs. Earlier, Micron confirmed it received $275 million in federal funding under the Chip and Science Act to upgrade the plant and move automotive DRAM production from Taiwan to the US. The project is also expected to create 950 construction jobs and more than 400 manufacturing jobs.

Industry information: AI chip, Foundry

07. TSMC production in the United States in the first quarter of 2024, with price increases expected for cost reasons

On 29 December, it was reported that TSMC's US plant is expected to start mass production in the first quarter of next year, using a 4nm process and producing 10,000 12-inch wafers a month. The factory plans to produce for four major customers, including Apple, NVIDIA, AMD and Qualcomm, and aims to produce 20,000 wafers per month by the middle of next year. The second phase of the factory equipment installation has been launched, is expected to mass production in the middle of next year; the third phase of the factory plans to produce 2nm or 1.6nm chips by 2030. The share of U.S. semiconductor production fell to 12 per cent from 37 per cent 20 years ago, TSMC's U.S. plant or to help the manufacturing industry to recover, but because of the lack of supply chain, the cost is expected to be 30 per cent higher than in Taiwan.

08. WordPop plans to purchase $7bn of NVIDIA AI chips by 2025

On 30 December 2025, The Information reported that ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of popular short-form video platform TikTok, plans to invest as much as $7 billion in sourcing NVIDIA chips from outside of China by 2025, despite the US government's efforts to limit access to cutting-edge chips by Chinese firms, sources have revealed.

The report suggests that this move could make ByteDance one of the world's largest buyers of NVIDIA chips. Sources from The Information suggest that while ByteDance is technically complying with US restrictions and won't be bringing chips directly into China, the company is storing them in data centres in regions such as Southeast Asia.

09. Semiconductor foundry competition intensifies: Japan and South Korea step up fight for market share

The rise of artificial intelligence and flagship smartphones is driving continued growth in advanced semiconductor manufacturing, although demand in the consumer electronics market has yet to recover, Trendforce reported on 3 January. The global foundry industry is expected to grow by 20% in 2025, with TSMC dominating the market and Japan and South Korea enhancing competitiveness through large-scale investments.

Japan invests in Rapidus to advance 2nm chip development; South Korea plans 20 trillion won to support semiconductor industry, setting up TSMC-like KSMC Japan is investing in Rapidus to advance 2nm chip development, while South Korea is planning to spend 20 trillion won to support its semiconductor industry, including setting up a TSMC-like KSMC.