Taiwan earthquake: Semiconductor chip makers to take a hit on supply disruptions, say analysts

Taiwan's biggest earthquake in at least 25 years is likely to tighten supply of tech components such as display panels and semiconductors, analysts said, as manufacturers in the global tech powerhouse restore operations at affected facilities..

The island plays an outsized role in the global chip supply chain as it is home to the world's largest chipmaker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, which supplies chips to Apple and Nvidia..

Nvidia, whose popular AI chips are manufactured by TSMC, said it had consulted with its manufacturing partners and the firm does not expect supply chain disruptions from the earthquake..

In addition, the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography equipment crucial for these advanced nodes was halted at the site for a period of 8-to-15 hours. . Barclays analysts said some highly sophisticated semiconductor fabs need to operate seamlessly 24/7 in a vacuum state for several weeks and the halts would disrupt the process, pushing up pricing pressure in the sector..

Research firm TrendForce expected shipments of television panels would also be affected, as manufacturers have already been operating at near full capacity globally to meet solid demand, and as the earthquake was likely to tighten supplies..

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