US chip packaging to hit 10%
- DigiTimes reported Tuesday that U.S. outsourced chip packaging capacity could reach roughly 10% of global output by 2032 as Arizona projects advance. - The buildout centers on the chip industry’s assembly, packaging and test stage, with Amkor and TSMC planning advanced packaging and test work in Arizona. - Washington is funding advanced packaging as a supply-chain gap after years of U.S. fab expansion. (nist.gov)
The U.S. is trying to rebuild the last step of chipmaking, not just the factory step at the front. DigiTimes reported Tuesday that domestic outsourced packaging capacity could reach about 10% of global output by 2032. (digitimes.com) Packaging is the stage where finished silicon gets connected, protected and tested so it can go into a server, phone or car. In the chip industry, that work is often handled by outsourced semiconductor assembly and test companies, or OSATs. (nist.gov) (nist.gov) That part of the supply chain has long been concentrated in Asia even as the U.S. moved to subsidize new wafer fabs. DigiTimes said the new forecast reflects reshoring pressure and new U.S. manufacturing plans from TSMC, Intel and Samsung Electronics. (digitimes.com) The clearest Arizona project is the tie-up between Amkor Technology and TSMC. In October 2024, the companies said they would collaborate on advanced packaging and test in Arizona for customers using TSMC’s Phoenix wafer fabs. (amkor.com) (tsmc.com) Amkor later said its Arizona facility would be built on a 104-acre site in the Peoria Innovation Core in north Peoria. The company described it as an advanced packaging and test plant for U.S. customers. (amkor.com) TSMC is also expanding the front end of that chain in Arizona. The company says its third Arizona fab broke ground in April 2025 and is slated for N2 and A16 process technologies, with volume production targeted by the end of the decade. (tsmc.com) Washington has been putting research money behind the packaging layer as well. The National Institute of Standards and Technology says the CHIPS National Advanced Packaging Manufacturing Program finalized $300 million in awards for substrates and materials research. (nist.gov) The Commerce Department also said in January 2025 that advanced packaging was central to its planned CHIPS research and development facilities. Secretary Gina Raimondo said packaging capacity was key to keeping the U.S. competitive in leading-edge semiconductor manufacturing. (nist.gov) The practical point is that a chip made in Arizona still needs to be packaged and tested before it becomes a usable processor module. The U.S. push is now aimed at keeping more of that “last mile” at home. (digitimes.com) (amkor.com)
