On December 23, following verification from numerous sources, it was established that SMIC has elevated the prices for a portion of its production capacities by roughly 10%, with the price increase anticipated to take effect shortly. Earlier, owing to the excessively low pricing of memory products, wafer foundries had already initiated price hikes. Some insiders within the semiconductor industry have posited that SMIC's current price surge is, in part, a response to the escalating demand for mobile applications and AI, which has spurred an uptick in the need for chipsets and semiconductor products as a whole. On the other hand, escalating raw material costs have also played a role in this price adjustment. Moreover, TSMC has verified the consolidation of its 8-inch production capacities and has outlined plans to decommission certain production lines by the close of 2027, a move that could potentially amplify expectations of further price increases among wafer foundries. At present, propelled by robust demand, the capacity utilization rates of both SMIC and Hua Hong Semiconductor are on an upward trajectory, nearing or even surpassing full operational capacity.