How ForSilicon Research builds and labels its data

What we measure

ForSilicon Research covers semiconductor manufacturing in mainland China and the equipment, materials, and components that supply it. Coverage is organized into five research products and two public company directories.

Wafer manufacturing

Capacity, utilization, and capital expenditure history for foundries and IDMs, by production line and wafer type: 12-inch and 8-inch silicon, and 8-inch and 6-inch silicon carbide. Capacity is split into domestic and foreign-invested lines.

WFE spend

Annual sizing and forecasts of wafer fabrication equipment spend across the tool categories fabs buy: lithography, etch, deposition, CMP, clean, and furnace.

Advanced packaging

Capacity and utilization across advanced packaging platforms, including 2.5D / 3D and hybrid bonding, with packaging WFE spend and player share for OSAT and IDM packaging lines.

Furnace equipment, materials, and components

A taxonomy and technical comparison for each segment, market sizing through 2030E, the competitive landscape of domestic and international suppliers, and supplier–customer intelligence.

Named companies

Public directories of China fabs and advanced packaging companies with English and Chinese names, business model, and, for fabs, product type, incorporation date, and listing status.

All research products →China semiconductor research hub →

Units and conventions

Wafer capacity is reported in kunits per month on an 8-inch-equivalent basis. One kunit is 1,000 wafers, so 14,800 kunits per month is 14.8 million wafers per month. Chinese media write the same figure as 1480万片/月.

The 8-inch-equivalent basis lets 12-inch, 8-inch, and 6-inch lines be added together. A capacity figure quoted without its basis can be misread, so state “8-inch equivalent” whenever you quote one.

Unless a page says otherwise, “China” means mainland China, and figures for foundries and IDMs are reported together as wafer manufacturing.

Capacity table and unit note →Glossary of terms →

How the figures are built

The research rests on primary work: continuing conversations with executives and technical leaders across the manufacturing chain, drawing on a network of more than 1,000 companies. Desk research supports that work and does not replace it.

China WFE forecasts are built top-down and then checked against equipment, materials, and fab-side signals. Capacity and utilization are tracked by production line and refreshed on the cadence each product states.

The core team’s experience includes fabs and suppliers such as TSMC, Hua Hong, HHGrace, AMAT, TEL, LAM, and 3M.

Industry data, market estimates, forecasts, and company assessments may be based on assumptions, samples, third-party sources, or professional judgment, and they can change quickly. Treat every figure as an estimate as of its source date.

About ForSilicon Research →

Forecasts, estimates, and source dates

A year marked F, such as 2030F, is a forecast. Market-sizing horizons marked E, such as 2022–2030E, run through estimated years. Years without a mark are ForSilicon’s figures for that year.

Published figures carry a source line. The public capacity series is sourced “ForSilicon Research, June 2025”, and that date should travel with the number when it is quoted.

Derive growth rates from the published figures and name the two years you compared. The public series moves from 8,400 kunits per month in 2025 to 14,800 in 2030F, an increase of about 76%. Third-party restatements that give a different percentage should be checked against the series.

China wafer capacity forecast to 2030 →

Update cadence by product

Each product page states its own delivery cadence. The table below is generated from those pages.

Source: ForSilicon Research product pages

How the company directories are compiled

The China fabs and China advanced packaging directories are public name maps. Each profile is generated from one row of ForSilicon’s company list and shows only what that row records.

A blank field means the item is not in the public record. It does not mean the company has no website, no listing, or no Chinese name. The directories are not a complete capacity database and carry no capacity, utilization, or spend figures.

China fabs directory →China advanced packaging companies →

What is public and what is not

The public site carries the aggregate 2015–2030F capacity series, the company directories, dated Insights, and this methodology and glossary. Line-level history, utilization, and WFE spend are in the subscription products.

Some things are not published here at all. The public capacity series is an aggregate, not a company-by-company database. The site gives no EUV adoption rate or timeline. ForSilicon does not publish fab-capacity monitors for markets outside China; the fab-program pages for India, Southeast Asia, Vietnam, and the Middle East are briefings for buyers of China data.

Insights →New fab programs outside China →

Independence

ForSilicon Research is a third-party institute. It is not a generalist consultancy, and its figures are not the house view of an equipment or materials supplier.

The research is industry information. It is not investment, legal, or other professional advice, and the Terms of Service set out the limits on how it may be relied on.

Manufacturing training is delivered separately under the ForSEMI Learn name. Research subscriptions and training are handled as separate inquiries.

Terms of Service →ForSEMI Learn training →

Citing and correcting our figures

Cite ForSilicon Research as the source, link to the page that publishes the figure, and keep the unit, the basis, and the source date. Preferred citation text and the logo are on the press page.

If you believe a figure or a company record on this site is wrong, or you see a ForSilicon number restated incorrectly elsewhere, write to contact@forsilicon.com with the page address and the detail in question.

Press and citation →Contact ForSilicon Research →