Global semiconductor market shares

Mutual dependence will persist. No country is self-sufficient when it comes to semiconductors due to the complexity, geographic specialisations and deep interdependencies characterising the supply chain. Figure 5 above and Figure 6 below, for instance, indicate that the US dominates global private R&D spending, Taiwan the foundries and most advanced manufacturing technology, Japan wafer fabrication, and China raw material inputs. Chip making, from design to production, assembly, testing and packaging is comprised of over 1 000 steps using around 300 materials including silicon wafers, gases and chemicals. Large semiconductor producers rely on up to 16 000 suppliers worldwide. A supply chain crosses the border 70 times before reaching an end user and passes over 50 choke points, where one region holds more than 65 % of the global market share. This makes the supply chain vulnerable to disruptions such as natural disasters, infrastructure failures and geopolitical tensions.