Posted on 02/24/2022 8:32:52 PM PST by SeekAndFind
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. TSM’s chips are everywhere, though most consumers don’t know it.The company makes almost all of the world’s most sophisticated chips, and many of the simpler ones, too. They’re in billions of products with built-in electronics, including iPhones, personal computers and cars—all without any obvious sign they came from TSMC, which does the manufacturing for better-known companies that design them, like Apple Inc. and Qualcomm Inc.
Its technology is so advanced, Capital Economics said, that it now makes around 92% of the world’s most sophisticated chips, which have transistors that are less than one-thousandth the width of a human hair. Samsung Electronics Co. makes the rest. Most of the roughly 1.4 billion smartphone processors world-wide are made by TSMC.
While the U.S. still leads the world in chip design and intellectual property with homegrown giants like Intel Corp. , Nvidia Corp. and Qualcomm, it now accounts for only 12% of the world’s chip manufacturing, down from 37% in 1990, according to Boston Consulting Group.
Other countries would need to spend at least $30 billion a year for a minimum of five years “to have any reasonable chance of success” in catching up with TSMC and Samsung, wrote IC Insights, a research firm, in a recent report.
Dimitris Dotis, the Audi brand specialist at Audi Tysons Corner dealership in Virginia, summed up the situation to customers. “Almost all microchips that go into all new vehicles including Audi come from TSMC in Taiwan,” he wrote. “They expect bottlenecks in the supply chain to last through 2022.”
Trump promised TSMC $3 billion in incentives to build a factory in Arizona, but no funding was allocated.
The newest chip designs will still be made in Taiwan.
Reuters reports Chipmaker TSMC Eyeing Expansion of Planned Arizona Plant.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd is planning to build several more chipmaking factories in the U.S. state of Arizona beyond the one currently planned, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters.
TSMC, the world's largest contract chipmaker, announced in May 2020 it would build a $12 billion factory in Arizona, an apparent win by the Trump administration in its push to wrestle global tech supply chains back from China.
TSMC manufactures the bulk of its chips in Taiwan and has older chip facilities in China and the U.S. state of Washington.
The initial fab is relatively modest by industry standards, with a planned output of 20,000 wafers - each of which contains thousands of chips - every month using the company's most sophisticated 5 nanometre semiconductor manufacturing technology.
The Biden administration is preparing to spend tens of billions of dollars to support domestic chip manufacturing. Under existing legislation, foreign firms are eligible for those funds, but whether they will ultimately receive it is an open question.
The Reuters article sounds great but 2024 is 2.5 to 3.5 years away depending on the month deployed.
By then, analysts expect TSMC to be building 3 nanometre chips, not in the US, but Taiwan.
Effectively, Taiwan is getting cheap land in the US to build what will likely be second-tier chips.
Meanwhile, US automakers are running short of chips, but guess what? In the Covid pandemic, the automakers cut orders and now want to be in front of the line.
TSMC isn't bumping orders and that's another reason certain models are hard to find. Global News Canada comments on the Chip Shortage.
Automakers around the world have been forced to halt or slow down production thanks to a global shortage of semiconductor chips.
“Normally, we would have 225 to 250 pickup trucks stocked at all times because we have both Chevrolet and GMC brands, and there’s been many times in the last six months we’ve been down to three or four,” said Peter Heppner, owner of the Preston Chevrolet Buick GMC Cadillac dealership in Langley, B.C.
According to Statistics Canada, the Canadian auto industry has been impacted by the shortage since January, but worsened in April as every major auto manufacturer had to stop or slow down production.
“In some cases, it’s meant manufacturers are building vehicles without the chips, storing them on site until they are able to resolve that issue. Some manufacturers are postponing the introduction of models,” said Blair Qualey, president of the New Car Dealers Association of BC.
“Used cars are like real estate right now. There are cars that are selling for grossly higher amounts – 25, 30 per cent, 40 per cent more than they would have sold at the same time a year and a half ago.”
On June 8, a White House Fact Sheet announced a Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force to address short-term supply chain discontinuities.
Today, the Biden-Harris Administration is announcing key findings from the reviews directed under Executive Order (E.O.) 14017 “America’s Supply Chains,” as well as immediate actions the Administration will take to strengthen American supply chains to promote economic security, national security, and good-paying, union jobs here at home.
Today, building on these efforts, the Administration released findings from the comprehensive 100-day supply chain assessments for four critical products: semiconductor manufacturing and advanced packaging; large capacity batteries, like those for electric vehicles; critical minerals and materials; and pharmaceuticals and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs).
After all is said and done it appears that in 2024 the world's supply of industry leading chips will still be made in Taiwan.
We don’t need no stinking chips as long as we have doritos.
Seems China is able to buy a lot with that Walmart money
the real question is does civilization survive the destruction of the factory, or do the lights go off and everyone starve without the components...
It survives. We will make do.
This is why we will not allow CCP to takeover Taiwan.
TSMC is currently constructing a Fab in Phoenix and they have one in Washington State. They have a JV operation in Singapore, and are planning a factory in Japan. They are concentrated in Taiwan, but are diversifying geographically. They also have several facilities in Red China.
And it’s not just the US. If China invades Taiwan, China will be facing off against the entire G7.
China is not big enough for that.
I should probably replace my cellphone before China takes Taiwan.
This is why we have to the Spring of 2024 before China invades Taiwan. Only the prospect of Trump returning to the White House will force China’s hand. They rely on Taiwan Semiconductor’s chips as well.
“the real question is does civilization survive the destruction of the factory, or do the lights go off and everyone starve without the components...”
Option B. Before these chips were around, we didn’t need them. Now everything is designed around them. Probably we should have given it a bit of thought...but likely too late now.
I expect a gradual collapse of this country, over about 5 years, as things continue to break, if the chips stop flowing.
So, does Taiwan threaten to destroy the place if China invades? Seems like job one if China invades would be to secure the plant
G7 vs china AND russia
We should have 5 smaller factories to make these chips spread around the US.
We have plans to bomb the foundries if China takes over.
I think Covid has awoken a lot of welcome supply chain awareness
I do not believe Gates ever said hardware should be free.
Just 1 reason why the USA would be screwed when the Chicomms invade. And they will invade.
We need to bring manufacturing back.
Well maybe the World got the first part right.
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