Asian chipmakers rush to boost production to meet global shortage
Asian
chipmakers are rushing to expand their production capacity to meet a global
shortage that has been acutely felt by carmakers, but the firms warn that the
supply gap may take many months to plug as they struggle to keep up with strong
demand.
Automakers
from General Motors to Stellantis and Honda Motor are shutting assembly lines
due to the shortages, which in some cases have been exacerbated by the former
U.S. administration's sanctions against Chinese chip factories. Some firms have
also furloughed staff.
Eight-inch
chip manufacturing plants owned mostly by Asian firms, which tend to make
older, less sophisticated chips, are particularly under strain primarily due to
under-investment in recent years. The majority of such factories are used to
make auto chips.
Consumer
demand in China, especially for cars, has snapped back unexpectedly quickly
from the coronavirus crisis, and orders for products such as laptops and mobile
phones in regions still struggling with pandemic restrictions, such as Europe
and the United States, have also picked up.
The
global concerns about the chip shortage were underscored at recent quarterly
earnings calls held by companies from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd
(TSMC) to South Korea's SK Hynix.
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