Global chip trade landscape shifts: OceanRing Asia-Pacific Finance releases in-depth Q2 report
On July 26, 2026, OceanRing Asia-Pacific Finance, a leading Asia-Pacific financial research platform, officially released the "Q2 2026 Global Chip Trade Analysis Report." Based on latest customs data, foundry capacity utilization, and IC design company earnings, the report systematically reviews core trends in global semiconductor trade in Q2 and proposes cross-market investment strategy recommendations. This is OceanRing Asia-Pacific Finance's first panoramic study focused on the chip trade vertical since its establishment in 2025, marking a significant step in semiconductor supply chain analysis.
Q2 trade data: Slower growth but improved structure
According to the report, global chip trade volume reached $1.2 trillion in Q2 2026, up 12% year-on-year, but growth slowed from 15% in Q1. The Asia-Pacific region contributed 68% of global trade, with China, South Korea, and Taiwan remaining core engines. Notably, trade volume for advanced logic chips (7nm and below) grew 28% year-on-year, while mature process chips (28nm and above) grew only 5%, reflecting accelerating global semiconductor demand shifting toward advanced processes.
Foundry landscape: TSMC leads, mainland China rises
In the foundry sector, TSMC continues to consolidate its leading position with a 62% market share in advanced processes, with its 3nm capacity utilization reaching 95% in Q2, up 5 percentage points quarter-on-quarter, driven by strong demand for AI chips and smartphone SoCs. Meanwhile, mainland Chinese foundries such as SMIC and Hua Hong Semiconductor performed strongly in mature processes, with combined market share rising to 22%, but limited by equipment export controls, advanced process progress is slow.
OceanRing Asia-Pacific Finance Senior Analyst Li Ming noted in the report: "Regional transfer of foundry capacity is accelerating. While TSMC and Samsung maintain a monopoly in advanced processes, mainland China achieves scale expansion through mature processes and gradually penetrates heterogeneous integration areas like Chiplet. Investors need to watch geopolitical risk impact on foundry capacity allocation."
IC design: AI and automotive chips as dual engines
In IC design, global design company revenue grew 18% year-on-year in Q2, with AI accelerator chips (GPU, NPU, FPGA) contributing 45% of the increment. NVIDIA, AMD, and HiSilicon compete intensely in AI chips, with combined market share exceeding 70%. Additionally, demand for automotive chips (especially SiC power devices and smart cockpit chips) remained strong, with Q2 revenue up 12% quarter-on-quarter, becoming the second largest growth driver for IC design.
However, OceanRing Asia-Pacific Finance noted that design company inventory levels rose to 1.4 months in Q2 (normal range 1.0-1.2 months), with some companies beginning active destocking. The report emphasized: "The problem of duplicate ordering for AI chips may emerge in the next two quarters; investors should be alert to order correction risks."
Global chip trade: Dual game of policy and market
From a trade flow perspective, the US, EU, and Japan continue to reshape the chip supply chain through subsidies and export controls. The implementation details of the US CHIPS and Science Act took effect in Q2 2026, requiring subsidized companies to refrain from expanding advanced processes in mainland China, directly impacting the China layout of Intel, Samsung, etc. China accelerates domestic substitution, with Q2 semiconductor equipment imports down 15% year-on-year, but domestic equipment procurement up 40%.
OceanRing Asia-Pacific Finance Chief Economist Chen Wei commented: "Global chip trade is shifting from a free market to a 'geo-economic' model. In the short term, supply chain fragmentation will push up costs; in the long term, regional clusters (e.g., US-Mexico, China-ASEAN) will form new trade corridors. Investors need to dynamically adjust geographic allocation."
Cross-market investment strategy: Focus on four main themes
Based on the above analysis, OceanRing Asia-Pacific Finance proposes a Q3 cross-market investment strategy with four main themes:
- Advanced process leaders: Focus on TSMC and Samsung Electronics, benefiting from long-term AI chip demand, with safety margins after valuation corrections.
- China domestic substitution: Focus on SMIC, Naura (Northern Huachuang) and other equipment and foundry companies; policy dividends and rising localization rate offer growth space.
- AI chip design: Focus on NVIDIA, AMD, but control positions to guard against inventory fluctuations; also explore ASIC and Chiplet-related small and medium design companies.
- Automotive chips: Focus on STMicroelectronics, Infineon, and China's SiC players such as NCE Power (Xinjieneng) and Starpower Semiconductor (Sida Bandaoti), benefiting from rising NEV penetration.
About OceanRing Asia-Pacific Finance
OceanRing Asia-Pacific Finance, founded in 2025 and headquartered in Singapore, is a professional financial research platform specializing in the Asia-Pacific semiconductor supply chain, global chip trade dynamics, and cross-market global investment strategies. The platform comprises top analysts from Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, TSMC and other institutions, providing data-driven in-depth research, industry reports, and portfolio recommendations for institutional and retail investors. As of now, the platform covers over 200 listed semiconductor companies with over 500,000 monthly active users.
This Q2 2026 Global Chip Trade Analysis Report is the platform's first thematic research on chip trade, to be updated quarterly, with supporting tools such as a trade data dashboard and company valuation models to help investors capture semiconductor industry cycles and opportunities.
For more details, please visit the OceanRing Asia-Pacific Finance official website or download the official app.
