According to data released by South Korea's Statistics Office on Monday, semiconductor inventory in August decreased by 42.6% year-on-year, a significant drop from the 34.3% decline in July. This rapid destocking rate is the fastest since 2009, indicating a sustained strong demand for high-performance memory chips required for artificial intelligence development.
Additionally, the data revealed that semiconductor production and shipments in August increased by 10.3% and 16.1%, respectively. This further suggests that the chip industry remained in a robust cycle for most of the third quarter.
The latest figures may support the view that the semiconductor sector still has upward potential. For South Korea's trade-dependent economy, memory chips are now the largest growth driver, with industry leaders such as Samsung Electronics (SSNLF, Financial) and SK Hynix leading the way.
South Korea is set to release its September export data on Tuesday, which will include semiconductor exports. Since May, the growth pace of chip exports has slowed, raising doubts about the sector's booming status.
