By Grace Kim

EMD Electronics has released a new industry survey that identifies capacity challenges as a persistent constraint across the semiconductor supply chain. The survey, reported by The Manila Times, also documents an expanded drive toward sustainability among chip industry participants.

The findings arrive as the industry continues to work through the aftereffects of the demand swings that defined the past several years. EMD Electronics, the electronics business of Merck KGaA, supplies materials that sit at multiple points in the chip production chain. Its survey draws on responses from industry participants who manage capacity planning and investment decisions.

What does the survey say about capacity?

Capacity remains the central operational concern. The survey finds that companies across the semiconductor value chain continue to face constraints in matching manufacturing output to demand. That pressure spans both leading-edge production and mature process technologies.

The capacity question has commercial weight. When output cannot track demand, customers face longer lead times and planners must reorder earlier. When output outruns demand, utilization rates fall and margin pressure follows. The survey's framing suggests the industry still sees itself in the first condition more often than the second.

Materials suppliers such as EMD Electronics sit close to this problem. Fab expansions require proportional growth in supply of gases, chemicals, and deposition materials. If capacity additions at the materials tier lag fab construction, the bottleneck moves upstream rather than disappearing.

How far does the sustainability drive extend?

The second major finding concerns sustainability. The survey points to a broadened commitment to environmental goals across the industry. Respondents indicated that sustainability considerations now carry more weight in operational and investment decisions than in prior survey rounds.

This aligns with direction across the wider sector. Chipmakers have set targets for reduced water use, lower process chemical consumption, and cleaner energy sourcing at fabrication sites. Suppliers face parallel pressure to cut the footprint of material production and delivery. The survey indicates this agenda has moved from corporate statements into procurement and planning decisions.

Sustainability and capacity interact. Environmental review can lengthen permitting for new facilities, and water and energy constraints can cap output at existing sites. Conversely, newer plants often run more efficiently per wafer than legacy fabs, which can improve both footprint and unit economics simultaneously.

Why does a supplier survey matter?

Materials suppliers hold an unusual vantage point in the semiconductor industry. EMD Electronics serves customers across most major manufacturing regions and process generations. A survey of that customer base functions as a sentiment read on where fab managers expect demand, investment, and constraint to sit in the coming cycle.

Sentiment surveys carry limits. They capture expectation, not order books, and respondents can misjudge demand turns in either direction. The concrete value lies in the direction of the results: capacity concerns persist, and sustainability has gained ground as a decision criterion.

What comes next?

The survey's release signals that EMD Electronics expects both themes to shape customer planning through the current investment cycle. If respondents' expectations hold, materials suppliers will need to expand their own output in step with fab capacity additions while meeting tightening environmental requirements from the same customers.

The Manila Times carried the survey announcement. EMD Electronics has not yet published a detailed breakdown of respondent figures in material reviewed for this report.

For semiconductor buyers, the survey's implication is direct. Capacity pressure that persists across a broad supplier base tends to support firm pricing and extended lead times until new investment converts into shipped output.