I'm confused as to why FredE didn't feel compelled to post this on the BRCM thread like he did on the CUBE thread today but I'll fill-in for his oversight (could it be that he's CURRENTLY long BRCM and short CUBE? - nahhh...). It's only appropriate to post this article considering that BRCM receives 50% of its chips from Taiwan. Now keep in mind, the following article is actually old as Hell and that the Japanese are vicious competitors with Taiwan. INTC has already stated that the chips they do receive from Taiwan will NOT be effected by the quake. I also know that TSM is up and running with 100% of their production capacity. Quite a bit of the article is just bald-faced lies (I can't think of any motivation for JAPANESE EXECUTIVES to lie (sarcasm, folks) - though they certainly have no law suits to fear from the Nationalistic, antiquated Japanese Government) But here it is:
The damage to semiconductor-making equipment during the earthquake in Taiwan last
month may have been much worse than first thought and could affect supplies of
personal computers during the peak Christmas and new year periods, according to
Japanese industry executives and analysts.
Although Taiwanese manufacturers of PC motherboards have said they expected to
resume production imminently, damage to facilities making some of the essential
components of these PC circuitboards, particularly graphic chips, sound chips and
memory control chip sets, has been substantial, Japanese chip buyers say.
Taiwanese suppliers had originally expected to resume production only two to three
weeks after the earthquake on September 28. But their Japanese customers now believe
it could take two to three months before shipments begin and as long as five months for
supplies to reach pre-earthquake levels.
For example, Naoyuki Akikusa, president of Fujitsu, told investors recently he did not
think TSMC, the Taiwanese maker that supplies the Japanese electronics group, would
be able to resume full production within the next two months.
Another Japanese electronics group thinks only 10 per cent of 28 production lines at the
Hsin-chu City Science Park, escaped undamaged.
The disruption is likely to cause serious problems for the world's PC industry, which has
been scrambling to obtain supplies of these key components. Taiwan makes 21 per cent
of video cards, 31 per cent of graphic cards and 48 per cent of sound cards, according
to Schroders, the UK brokers. Advanced Micro Devices, a US chip maker, has warned
that shortages of some PC components have halted production of circuitboards
incorporating the US company's microprocessor chips, its primary product.
The production bottleneck appears to be caused by damage to the manufacturers'
chemical vapour deposition furnaces, which contain large delicate quartz tubes. Japanese
electronics groups say many of the installed tubes have shattered. Worse, much of the
replacement stock, held on site, is also damaged. Leading Japanese suppliers of quartz
tubes report the backlog of orders has surged from 100 to 400 and they cannot meet
demand.
Clearing up production lines is likely to take months, the Japanese industry analysts say.
When the North Itami plant of Mitsubishi Electric was damaged in the January 1995
earthquake in Kobe, it took a month before production was resumed. Also, there is a
shortage of skilled technicians in Taiwan to make repairs. |
