BlockBeats report: On July 24, according to South Korea’s Digital News, the delivery lead times for major semiconductor manufacturing equipment have recently been extended by up to twice their original duration. Applied Materials, ASML, Lam Research, Tokyo Electron, and KLA collectively account for approximately 70% of the global semiconductor equipment market, with delivery lead times for their key equipment generally extending to 1.5 to 2 times longer than before. Some equipment that previously had a standard delivery cycle of six months now requires approximately one year to be delivered.
Domestic equipment manufacturers in South Korea are also experiencing similar situations. A South Korean company supplying front-end and back-end equipment to TSMC and Micron has seen delivery cycles for some products extend from three to four months to six to eight months; another supplier of back-end equipment to Micron has seen its delivery cycles increase by 1.5 times, with wait times for certain equipment exceeding one year.
Delays in equipment delivery may impact the originally scheduled startup timeline for the wafer fab. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix have begun closely monitoring equipment delivery status and are considering placing purchase orders earlier than originally planned to mitigate the risk of equipment arriving late.
This round of extended delivery cycles differs from the supply chain disruptions between 2021 and 2022, as it is primarily driven by increased chip demand fueled by AI infrastructure investments, with countries and companies simultaneously expanding wafer fabs, leading to a surge in equipment orders. As global wafer fab investments continue, shortages in equipment and related facility construction supplies may persist.