Worldwide shipments of polished and epitaxial silicon wafers are forecast to total 12.445 billion square inches in 2018, exceeding the market high set in 2017, according to SEMI. Shipments will continue to reach record levels through 2021.

Shipments are forecast to reach 13.09 billion square inches in 2019, 13.44 billion in 2020 and 13.778 billion in 2021, said SEMI.

"As new greenfield fab projects continue to emerge for memory and foundry, silicon shipments are expected to remain strong for 2019 and through 2021," said Clark Tseng, director of Industry Research & Statistics at SEMI. "Silicon demand will continue to grow as semiconductor content increases in mobile, high-performance computing, automotive, and Internet of Things applications."

Silicon wafers are the fundamental building material for semiconductors, which in turn, are vital components of virtually all electronics goods, including computers, telecommunications products and consumer electronics.