TSMC projects 3nm throughput of about 180,000 wafers/month by end of 2026
- TrendForce reported April 27 that TSMC now expects Taiwan 3-nanometer monthly capacity to reach about 180,000 wafers by late 2026. - The revised target is up from an earlier 150,000-wafers plan, with current output rising from roughly 120,000-130,000 wafers at end-2025. - TSMC said strong leading-edge demand supported Q1 2026 results, with 3nm contributing 25% of wafer revenue. (trendforce.com)
TSMC is now projected to raise Taiwan 3-nanometer capacity to about 180,000 wafers a month by the end of 2026, according to TrendForce reporting on April 27. (trendforce.com) A wafer is the round silicon disk chipmakers print chips onto, and monthly wafer capacity is the clearest measure of how many advanced chips a fab can turn out. TSMC’s new 180,000 target is about 20% above an earlier 150,000-wafers forecast. (trendforce.com) TrendForce said TSMC’s 3nm output was around 120,000 to 130,000 wafers a month at the end of 2025. That implies more than 40% year-over-year growth if the company reaches the new end-2026 target. (trendforce.com) The pressure is coming from the most expensive chips in the market: artificial intelligence graphics processors, server processors, and premium smartphone chips. TrendForce said demand is being driven by customers including Nvidia, AMD, Intel, and automotive chip buyers. (trendforce.com) TSMC’s own April 16 earnings release showed how central those leading-edge nodes have become. In the first quarter of 2026, 3-nanometer chips accounted for 25% of total wafer revenue, while 5-nanometer chips accounted for 36% and 7-nanometer chips for 13%. (investor.tsmc.com) Advanced nodes are the newest manufacturing recipes, and each step down in size lets designers pack in more computing power or cut electricity use. TSMC said technologies at 7 nanometers and below made up 74% of total wafer revenue in the first quarter. (investor.tsmc.com) The 2-nanometer ramp is moving almost as fast. TrendForce reported that TSMC began 2nm mass production in the fourth quarter of 2025 and could lift monthly 2nm capacity to nearly 100,000 wafers by the end of 2026. (trendforce.com) More capacity is coming, but not immediately. TrendForce said a new 3nm fab in Southern Taiwan Science Park is expected to enter mass production in the first half of 2027, TSMC’s second Arizona fab in the second half of 2027, and a second Kumamoto fab in 2028. (trendforce.com) TSMC’s April 16 earnings release also showed why investors are watching those ramps so closely. First-quarter revenue rose 35.1% year over year to NT$1.134 trillion, and the company guided second-quarter revenue to US$39.0 billion to US$40.2 billion. (investor.tsmc.com) The number to watch now is not just 180,000 wafers a month, but whether TSMC can add that output before its 2027 fabs arrive. The company said first-quarter demand was already being supported by its leading-edge processes, and the latest capacity target suggests customers still want more. (investor.tsmc.com) (trendforce.com)
