SEMI: wafer shipments up 13.1%

- Global silicon‑wafer shipment area rose 13.1% year‑over‑year to 3,275 million square inches in Q1 2026, signalling stronger fab demand. - DigiTimes reported the SEMI figure as a direct manufacturing volume indicator linking AI datacenter demand to upstream capacity pressure. - The trend implies test, packaging, chemical supply and engineering talent competition will remain tight for U.S. and global fabs. (digitimes.com)