TSMC wafer foundry prices are again rumored to be increased. According to a report by DIGITIMES citing supply-chain sources, TSMC has planned to adjust wafer out-ship pricing starting January 2027 based on different processes and products. The overall price increase is about 3% to 6%. Among them, advanced processes such as 2nm and 3nm will see higher increases, while mature and specialty processes will be negotiated individually depending on the product, capacity utilization, and customer situation.

Strong demand for 2nm and 3nm; some capacity orders have visibility extending to 2030

Supply-chain sources indicate that demand for advanced processes such as TSMC’s 2nm and 3nm continues to outstrip supply. Capacity for advanced packaging technologies such as CoWoS is also still tight. Some orders even have visibility extending to 2030. Under conditions of supply tightness, for customers of high-end chips, the importance of securing capacity remains higher than short-term price fluctuations.

TSMC’s pricing adjustment this time is not synchronized across all processes; instead, it is differentiated based on different products and market supply-demand conditions. By contrast, pricing for mature and specialty processes will be handled through individual negotiations. The actual magnitude of any price increase depends on product demand, capacity utilization, and customer conditions.

In fact, as early as July this year, market reports said TSMC planned to raise wafer-founding (foundry) prices starting in 2027. At the time, market rumors claimed that some processes could see the maximum increase of up to 10%. The 3% to 6% overall price increase reported this time from the supply chain is more specific than the earlier market rumors.

Peers gradually adjust prices, and the price-increase effect feeds through to the semiconductor supply chain

Besides TSMC’s pricing adjustments, other wafer foundries such as UMC, Powerchip, and GlobalWafers have also been reported to have, or have already announced, price-increase strategies. The market expects the related price adjustments may continue through 2027. For example, according to supply chain information, GlobalWafers’ demand for 8-inch wafer foundry services has recently rebounded, with capacity utilization already exceeding 90%, and order visibility of about 3 to 5 months.

After wafer foundry prices are raised, packaging and testing firms and IC design companies may also face increased costs. However, whether they can pass the costs on to downstream customers, and the actual extent of the price increases, still depends on the level of competition in each product market and the supply-demand situation.

In addition, TSMC has continued to expand its global manufacturing footprint in recent years. High capital expenditures and overseas plant-building costs have also increased cost pressures on the wafer manufacturing side. If wafer foundry prices are generally raised in 2027, it may further affect the semiconductor supply chain such as packaging and testing, substrates, and materials afterward.

Improved supplier bargaining power; AI is an important support for higher prices

From the perspective of market demand, the core driver of this round of wafer foundry price adjustments is still changes in the supply-demand structure. On one hand, key AI capacity such as 2nm, 3nm, and CoWoS remains tight. On the other hand, demand from AI servers for power, networking, and optical communication-related chips is also gradually pushing up utilization rates of mature processes.

As AI demand continues to expand, wafer foundries are no longer facing only orders for high-end GPUs and ASICs, but rather a broad demand covering the entire components of AI servers. This demand structure, spreading from advanced processes to more mature ones, could become an important support for wafer foundries to maintain pricing and improve profitability in 2027.

Source