Taiwan chip maker ramps up production as auto industry wrestles with shortages 28 January 2021 - 13:53 By Reuters Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd says it is addressing auto chip supply challenges as its top priority. Image: 4itolino / 123rf
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC) is “expediting” auto-related products through its wafer fabs and reallocating wafer capacity, the company said on Thursday, amid a global shortage of auto chips.
Automakers around the world are shutting assembly lines due to the shortages, which in some cases have been worsened by the former US administration s actions against Chinese chip factories.
Taiwan s economy minister said on Wednesday that major Taiwanese chipmakers were willing to prioritise supplies for automakers, after she met senior company executives including from TSMC.
It seems like barely a week passes by without new stories concerning shortages of tech products like CPUs, graphics cards, or games consoles. A lot of the problem is due to the unrelenting demand for contract chipmaker output from the likes of TSMC and Samsung. These chipmakers are struggling to keep up with demand, and bringing online further capacity takes considerable time, investment, and could mean they get paid less for their output.
Today reports suggest automakers are looking to throw petrol on the fire burning through the available output from these contract chipmakers. Reports published by the likes of Reuters and Nikkei Asia say that four of the biggest Taiwanese chipmakers met with the country s economics minister on Wednesday to hear a request from automakers from around the globe. This meeting was preceded by the German Minister of Economic Affairs requesting help, from Taiwan s Ministry of Economic Affairs, to improve the flow of chips to the auto sector.
Four major Taiwanese chip makers met the island’s economics minister on Wednesday and told her they were willing to prioritise supplies for auto makers amid a global shortage of chips for the industry, the minister said.
It seems like barely a week passes by without new stories concerning shortages of tech products like CPUs, graphics cards, or games consoles. A lot of the problem is due to the unrelenting demand for contract chipmaker output from the likes of TSMC and Samsung. These chipmakers are struggling to keep up with demand, and bringing online further capacity takes considerable time, investment, and could mean they get paid less for their output.
Today reports suggest automakers are looking to throw petrol on the fire burning through the available output from these contract chipmakers. Reports published by the likes of Reuters and Nikkei Asia say that four of the biggest Taiwanese chipmakers met with the country s economics minister on Wednesday to hear a request from automakers from around the globe. This meeting was preceded by the German Minister of Economic Affairs requesting help, from Taiwan s Ministry of Economic Affairs, to improve the flow of chips to the auto sector.