Graphic shows revenue share of the semiconductor foundry industry, the fabricators of the world’s microchips, breakdown by end use for the chips, and predicte losses for the auto-industry which has become particularly vulnerable to
GN41186EN

TECHNOLOGY

Microchip supply chain threat to auto industry

By Phil Bainbridge

March 29, 2021 - Over 80% of the world’s semiconductors originate in Taiwan or South Korea and in the wake of the pandemic this dependence has led to a global shortage and rising tensions between the world’s biggest economies to obtain the valuable microchips.

The biggest of the semiconductor foundries, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, alone accounts for 70% of all the microcontrollers in the automotive industry, which itself makes up only 3% of TMSC’s revenue.

When carmakers reduced orders in anticipation of lower demand during the pandemic, manufacturing capacity was diverted to more profitable sectors such as online data centres, mobile phones and consumer electronics, leaving the auto industry now facing huge losses.

Sources
PUBLISHED: 29/03/2021; STORY: Graphic News
Advertisement