August statistics released by South Korean authorities show an accelerating decline in semiconductor inventories. They turned out to be 42.6% less than a year earlier. If we take into account that in July the difference was 34.3%, then we can talk about the acceleration of the emptying of warehouses.
Image Source: Samsung Electronics
At the same time, at the end of August, chip production volumes increased only by 10.3%, while supply volumes increased by 16.1%. In fact, during the bulk of the third quarter there was an increase in demand for semiconductor products of South Korean origin. If we take into account that the main part of it is memory chips, and within this segment HBM is now the most in demand, we can talk about maintaining high demand for components for artificial intelligence systems.
The largest HBM supplier remains SK hynix, while the globally larger Samsung Electronics is content with second place. September statistics on exports of goods from South Korea, including semiconductor products, will be released this week. Semiconductor export growth has been slowing since May, raising concerns about the continuation of the boom. At the end of August, the gross output of industrial goods in South Korea increased year-on-year by 3.8% against the expected 1.9%.