Impact on Taiwan’s Earthquake on Global Semiconductor Supply
On April 3rd, Taiwan experienced its most devastating earthquake in 25 years, resulting in the deaths of 9 individuals and injuring over 1,000. This seismic event led to widespread destruction, including collapsed buildings, power failures, and landslides, and prompted early tsunami alerts in Japan and the Philippines.
Taiwan is also the house of the world’s largest chipmaker company in the world, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co ( $Taiwan Semiconductor(TSM.US$ ) who supplies chips to the big players like Apple & NVIDIA. As the earthquake struck, TSMC temporarily halted operations, sparking concerns among global investors about potential semiconductor supply disruptions and chip shortages. Reflecting on a similar earthquake in 2016, TSMC had assured minimal impact on first-quarter shipments, but while wafer chip shipments dipped by 1.8%, revenue for the quarter plummeted by 8.3%.
This recent earthquake prompted TSMC to overhaul its protocols and infrastructure. Learning from past experiences, the company reinforced ceilings with bracings and added stoppers to prevent slippages on tower stoker shelves. Though damage was reported in a "small number" of tools, the majority of fabrication plants recovered 70% of tools within 10 hours, with critical tools remaining unharmed.
At the time of writing, TSMC hadn't disclosed the full impact of the work stoppage on its business. In Malaysia, many local tech firms depend on TSMC for raw materials, and while the suspension may not immediately affect the semiconductor sector due to existing inventory, a prolonged halt exceeding two weeks could have significant repercussions.
In my view, investors need not overly fret about TSMC amid this natural disaster. TSMC's earthquake preparedness reflects Taiwan's broader infrastructure changes to mitigate earthquake-related risks.
Taiwan is also the house of the world’s largest chipmaker company in the world, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co ( $Taiwan Semiconductor(TSM.US$ ) who supplies chips to the big players like Apple & NVIDIA. As the earthquake struck, TSMC temporarily halted operations, sparking concerns among global investors about potential semiconductor supply disruptions and chip shortages. Reflecting on a similar earthquake in 2016, TSMC had assured minimal impact on first-quarter shipments, but while wafer chip shipments dipped by 1.8%, revenue for the quarter plummeted by 8.3%.
This recent earthquake prompted TSMC to overhaul its protocols and infrastructure. Learning from past experiences, the company reinforced ceilings with bracings and added stoppers to prevent slippages on tower stoker shelves. Though damage was reported in a "small number" of tools, the majority of fabrication plants recovered 70% of tools within 10 hours, with critical tools remaining unharmed.
At the time of writing, TSMC hadn't disclosed the full impact of the work stoppage on its business. In Malaysia, many local tech firms depend on TSMC for raw materials, and while the suspension may not immediately affect the semiconductor sector due to existing inventory, a prolonged halt exceeding two weeks could have significant repercussions.
In my view, investors need not overly fret about TSMC amid this natural disaster. TSMC's earthquake preparedness reflects Taiwan's broader infrastructure changes to mitigate earthquake-related risks.
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EddyHamster : small problem for TSM.....
Tonyco : learning from past experiences. only after the most devestation possible? wow slow down guys. wouldnt want to prevent this stuff or anything