On July 28, 2026, Xingang News released the latest issue of the Asia Semiconductor Overseas Supply-Demand Monthly Report. The report shows that as of the end of July, the global semiconductor industry continues its high prosperity. As the core region for global chip manufacturing and export, Asia’s supply-demand situation remains tight. Advanced process capacity is particularly scarce, with foundries such as TSMC and Samsung having utilization rates generally exceeding 95%, and some production lines even running at overcapacity. Meanwhile, demand from downstream applications such as AI accelerators, automotive electronics, and high-performance computing (HPC) remains robust, driving Asia’s chip export value up about 12% year-on-year.
Advanced Process in Short Supply, 3nm/5nm Capacity Hard to Secure
The report points out that since Q2 2026, explosive growth in AI large model training and inference demand has led to a surge in orders for advanced process nodes from chip makers such as NVIDIA and AMD. TSMC’s 3nm (N3 series) capacity utilization has exceeded 98%, and 5nm (N5 series) is also fully loaded. Although Samsung Electronics has made breakthroughs in 3nm GAA technology, yield improvement is slow, and some orders have returned to TSMC. It is estimated that in 2026, Asian manufacturers account for over 90% of global 3nm and below process capacity, with TSMC alone holding a share of over 70%.
"The current order backlog for advanced process has been extended to Q1 2027, and customers are even willing to pay premiums to lock in capacity," the report quotes a foundry executive. To ease the supply-demand imbalance, TSMC has accelerated mass production plans at its Arizona plant, but its domestic fabs remain the main force. South Korea’s Samsung plans to increase 3nm capacity at its Pyeongtaek P3 plant by 30% by the end of 2026.
Mature Process Competition Intensifies, Mainland China Capacity Expands
Unlike the booming advanced process, the market for 28nm and above mature processes is undergoing changes. The report shows that mainland Chinese foundries such as SMIC, Hua Hong Semiconductor, and Nexchip are accelerating expansion, with an expected additional capacity of about 600,000 8-inch equivalent wafers per month in 2026. This has made supply of some standard logic chips, power management ICs, and MCUs looser, with prices softening slightly.
However, overseas demand for mature processes has not weakened. The report analyzes that global automotive electronics, industrial control, and IoT fields still heavily rely on mature process chips, especially automotive-grade MCUs and sensors with steady demand growth. Mainland Chinese manufacturers leverage cost advantages to gain market share, but some high-end analog and RF chips still need to be imported from the US and Europe. Overall, the mature process market features "overall balance but structural differentiation."
Memory Prices Bottom Out, HBM Becomes Biggest Growth Highlight
In memory, the report shows DRAM and NAND Flash prices rose 8% and 5% quarter-on-quarter respectively in Q2 2026, ending the previous three-quarter downtrend. Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Micron strictly controlled capital expenditures, coupled with AI server demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM), improving the supply-demand balance. In particular, HBM3E and HBM4 products are as undersupplied as advanced processes.
"HBM is the fastest-growing segment in the memory market, with total shipments expected to grow over 150% year-on-year in 2026," the report says. As the HBM market leader, SK Hynix’s capacity has been booked by NVIDIA and AMD through 2027. Samsung is also accelerating HBM4 R&D to narrow the gap with SK Hynix. It is worth noting that although China’s CXMT has made progress in DRAM, its HBM technology still lags behind Korean manufacturers by 2-3 years.
End Demand: AI and Automotive Electronics Dual Engine
From an end-use perspective, AI is undoubtedly the strongest engine driving semiconductor demand. The report estimates that global AI accelerator chip shipments exceeded $45 billion in H1 2026, up 65% year-on-year, with Asia manufacturing accounting for over 80%. Besides GPUs, dedicated AI ASICs (such as Google TPU, Amazon Trainium) have also entered mass production, further consuming advanced process capacity.
In automotive electronics, although global NEV sales growth slowed to around 20%, chip content per vehicle continues to rise, especially smart cockpit and autonomous driving domain controllers driving strong demand for SoCs and sensor chips. The report predicts that the automotive semiconductor market will surpass $70 billion in 2026, with the Asian supply chain (including Renesas in Japan, Samsung in Korea, Horizon Robotics in China, etc.) playing a key role. However, the long certification cycle for automotive-grade chips limits near-term capacity expansion, and some high-end vehicle chips still face structural shortages.
Asia Chip Export Outlook: Resilience Amid Trade Frictions
The report concludes by analyzing the impact of overseas supply-demand on exports of Asian economies. In June 2026, semiconductor export data for Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, and Southeast Asian countries showed divergence. Taiwan, benefiting from TSMC’s advanced processes, saw exports up 15% year-on-year in June; South Korea grew 11% driven by memories and panels; Japan grew 8%, mainly driven by materials and equipment exports. Southeast Asia (Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines) saw steady packaging and testing demand, but due to US-China tech rivalry, some orders shifted to SE Asia, yet capacity and technology bottlenecks remain.
Looking ahead to Q3, the report believes that with the traditional peak season for consumer electronics (new iPhone, Android flagships) and sustained AI server demand, the tight supply-demand situation for Asia semiconductors will continue. Advanced process prices may be raised further, and memory prices have room for over 10% increase. However, geopolitical risks should be watched, including possible escalation of US chip bans on China and the impact of extreme weather on semiconductor fab operations.
In summary, the Asia Semiconductor Overseas Supply-Demand Monthly Report sends the latest signal: the core growth engine of the global chip industry is shifting from past consumer electronics to AI and automotive electronics, with advanced processes and HBM becoming strategic positions. For investors, close attention should be paid to capacity expansion pace of leading companies such as TSMC, Samsung (SSNLF), SK Hynix, and the competitive landscape of mainland Chinese foundries in mature processes.
Xingang News will continue to track the Asia semiconductor industry chain dynamics and provide timely, in-depth supply-demand analysis for cross-border investors. For more detailed data, please refer to the full version of our July 2026 Asia Semiconductor Overseas Supply-Demand Monthly Report.
