Taiwan's government-backed Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) has increased its prediction for the growth of the nation's semiconductor industry output value in 2025 to over 22 percent, driven by robust global demand for artificial intelligence technologies, according to Focus Taiwan.
In its most recent IEK Current Quarterly Model report, ITRI projected that the domestic semiconductor industry will achieve an output of NT$6.5 trillion (US$216.67 billion) in 2025, reflecting a 22.2 percent rise from the previous year, marking an upward adjustment from the 19.1 percent growth estimate made in May.
According to ITRI, the impressive performance of the local semiconductor sector is mainly due to the stronger-than-anticipated results from the integrated circuit (IC) manufacturing segment.
This forecast from ITRI follows Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the largest contract chipmaker globally, raising its sales growth outlook to 30 percent for 2025, up from its previous projection of 24-26 percent.
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TSMC attributed the increase in guidance to the heightened computing power needed for new AI applications, which has fueled greater global demand for sophisticated chips, as reported by Focus Taiwan.
ITRI indicated that the IC manufacturing sector is expected to produce NT$4.36 trillion in output in 2025, reflecting a 27.5 percent growth year-on-year, compared to an earlier forecast of a 23.1 percent increase.
The output value in the pure foundry wafer business, where TSMC leads its competitors worldwide, is anticipated to reach NT$4.16 trillion, representing a 28.3 percent rise from the previous year, according to ITRI's findings.
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In 2025, the IC packaging sector is projected to experience a 13.5 percent increase in output, reaching NT$480.3 billion, while the IC testing sector is expected to generate NT$230.5 billion, a 15.2 percent rise from a year prior, as noted in the ITRI report.
The IC design segment is forecasted to grow by 12.1 percent to an output value of NT$1.42 trillion, a decrease from the previously estimated growth of 13.9 percent, as per ITRI’s assessment.
During the second quarter, the output value of Taiwan's semiconductor industry reached NT$1.6 trillion, which is an increase of 7.4 percent from the preceding quarter.
The IC manufacturing sector excelled within the industry, recording an output of NT$1.06 trillion, which is a 10.4 percent rise from the quarter before, according to ITRI.
The institute projects that the production value of the local semiconductor sector will rise to approximately NT$1.68 trillion in the third quarter, an increase of 4.8 percent from the last quarter, while the output of the IC manufacturing segment is anticipated to reach NT$1.15 trillion, reflecting a 7.3 percent growth from the second quarter