The shortage of chips has affected manufacturing operations around the world. Industries that are particularly affected include American technology and automakers. Due to shortages, automotive manufacturers, including Ford and other companies, are forced to produce cars that lack critical microprocessors. This made it impossible for automakers to ship many vehicles and affected sales.
Last week, TSMC announced plans to build new factories in the United States and Japan. As the demand for American manufacturers to manufacture chips in the United States continues to increase, new factories in the United States will follow. During the pandemic, TSMC and other semiconductor manufacturers have unprecedented demand for their products, while global production is declining.
TSMC also announced that it will expand its production capacity in China, and does not rule out a “second phase” expansion at its plant already operating in Arizona. So far, it has invested $12 billion in its Arizona manufacturing plant. TSMC is the world’s largest chip manufacturer, and its main customers include Apple.
The company said it is also considering setting up a special technology wafer manufacturing plant in Japan. TSMC Chairman Mark Liu said that the company is expanding its global manufacturing footprint to maintain and enhance its competitive advantage and better serve customers. However, the executive did point out that overseas manufacturing facilities cannot match the cost of Taiwan’s manufacturing operations.
The cost of manufacturing semiconductors in countries such as Japan or the United States will be much higher than the cost of manufacturing in Taiwan, which may lead to an increase in the cost of the products they use. TSMC is planning to expand production capacity at its factories in China due to demand. The plant uses 28-nanometer semiconductor manufacturing technology, and after expansion, it can produce 40,000 wafers per month by mid-2023.
