U.S. Remains Hot Spot for Semiconductor Design

The global microchip industry is currently split between several geographic hubs, as data from the Semiconductor Industry Association shows. The design of the components is in large parts carried out in the United States and South Korea, while the manufacturing and assembly/packaging stages are mainly done in China and Taiwan.

The semiconductor industry is divided into several distinct stages: design, manufacture (split into the sourcing of materials and production of equipment as well as the actual wafer fabrication) and finally the assembly of components. Companies that can do all the steps are called embedded device manufacturers (IDMs), with examples like Samsung and Intel. Other companies have no manufacturing facilities and only design electronic chips - they are known as fabless companies. The actual production of semiconductors is in this case outsourced to companies called foundries. In 2022, the three largest were Asian companies (TSMC and UMC of Taiwan and Samsung Electronics of South Korea).

The semiconductor industry has been experiencing a steady rise in demand due to the increasing use of their products, for example in smartphones and automotive/industrial applications. The Covid-19 pandemic has had a major impact on global supply, with disruptions seen in key manufacturing regions China and Taiwan where factories were forced to close during lockdowns. Despite this, the industry has since recovered, with its global revenue increasing every year between 2020 and 2022. But new surges in demand as well as difficulties in the allocation of production capacity have led to new shortages. In addition, diplomatic tensions between the United States, Taiwan and China continue to affect global supply chains.