The semiconductor manufacturing expansion in the United States is creating opportunities for equipment makers, materials suppliers and engineering service providers, but the industry must address permitting delays, workforce shortages and supply chain coordination to turn investment into productive capacity, according to Joe Stockunas, president of SEMI Americas. In an interview with EE Times Asia during SEMICON West 2026 in San Francisco, Stockunas said the US government has committed $39 billion in support, while announced investments have reached $800 billion. Major semiconductor manufacturers capable of producing advanced devices are investing in the country, and yields at facilities in Arizona are now equivalent to those in Taiwan, he said. Stockunas returned to the industry in 2020 after retiring, motivated by the US reshoring effort. He said the expansion is also creating opportunities for younger Americans to enter semiconductor manufacturing and related technical fields.\ However, converting investment into operational capacity will require closer coordination across the supply chain. The scale of the expansion is unprecedented, Stockunas said, and suppliers are increasingly focused on managing lead times and working with other industry participants to meet demand. “Everybody’s working together collaborating,” he said, pointing to the expansion of SEMICON into a week-long event and the opening of Applied Materials’ EPIC Center, a $5 billion investment in Silicon Valley intended to support collaboration with customers and suppliers. “The complexity of what we do is simply mind blowing,” Stockunas said. “We can’t continue to advance our technologies without collaboration.” Joe Stockunas, President, SEMI Americas Permitting and construction remain challenges Stockunas identified the efficiency of fab construction as one of the main challenges facing the US expansion. Although the country has experience building large infrastructure projects, he said the permitting process needs to become more efficient. The US system involves federal and state governments with separate responsibilities and some overlapping authority. Coordinating those processes can make it harder to move projects forward than in countries with more centralized systems, he said. He pointed to special-purpose manufacturing facilities in Asia as an example of how standardized approaches can reduce the time required to obtain permits and complete construction. Improving coordination and adapting effective practices from established manufacturing hubs would help US projects progress more efficiently and strengthen their global competitiveness. Nevertheless, Stockunas said he has confidence in semiconductor companies’ ability to build facilities safely and properly, but argued that permitting and construction processes need further attention as investment grows. Global suppliers remain essential The US expansion will also depend on suppliers beyond its borders. Stockunas said semiconductor manufacturing is too complex for any single country or company to provide all the capabilities needed to sustain technological progress. “We have a global supply chain, and we rely on the best of breed around the world,” he said. For Asian equipment manufacturers, materials suppliers and engineering service providers seeking to participate in US projects, technical competence and innovation remain the main requirements, he added. “The only thing that matters is your technical competence and your ability to innovate. And the rest of it, we are indifferent. We want them all.” SEMI is working to bring together semiconductor manufacturers, equipment and materials suppliers, engineering companies, government representatives and academic institutions to address common challenges. Stockunas said the association’s role is to connect these groups and give them opportunities to contribute to industry development. Workforce demand spans the industry Workforce availability is another c