Boost to car-chip supply
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) expects sales to rise by more than 20 per cent this year in a bid to alleviate the global chip shortage that has hit car makers and other industries.
TSMC, which supplies Apple and is a key partner to many of the world’s biggest marques, predicts semiconductor supply will remain tight into 2022.
That said, it will ramp up production of microcontrollers by close to 60 per cent during 2021 to boost supplies for its vehicle manufacturing clients starting in the current quarter. It is also considering plans for a factory in Japan.
TSMC, the world’s most advanced manufacturer of semiconductors, has played an increasingly prominent political role over the past year, negotiating with governments and major corporations desperate for the chips needed to power businesses and economies.
While an ongoing semiconductor shortage has hampered the global economic recovery from Covid-19, suppliers such as TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, are among beneficiaries as they race to fulfil orders.
It is also likely to get a lift from plans by Apple, its largest customer, to ready 90 million units of upgraded iPhones for the second half of 2021.
In early July, Daimler and Jaguar Land Rover warned sales will be further hit by the persistent chip shortage, with the latter saying deliveries in the second quarter will be 50 per cent worse than initially thought.
The UK economy’s growth slowed to 0.8 per cent in May, partly due to a 16.4 per cent slump in the production of transport equipment triggered by a lack of semiconductors.
TSMC revenue from automotive clients increased 12 per cent from the first quarter, while high-performance computing climbed by a similar level.
Sales to smartphone clients, the biggest chunk of its revenue, eased back by three per cent in the seasonally slower second quarter.
TSMC says: “We have worked dynamically with other customers to reallocate our wafer capacity to support the worldwide automotive industry.”
