Water shortage threatens Taiwan’s semiconductor industry
Max Wang, Taipei; Jane Wang, DigiTimes.com [Tuesday 7 May 2002]
As cloudless, blue skies loom over the island, Taiwan’s semiconductor companies are beginning to feel anxious that orders may be lost if the water shortage persists.
Intel CEO Craig R. Barrett indicated on May 6 that in the short-term the water shortage would not affect its plans to place orders with Taiwanese companies and transferring orders elsewhere would not be easy. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) chairman Morris Chang, however, fears that the dry spell could affect orders and production and hopes the government will draw up measures to cope with the situation.
In the electronics industry, semiconductor, TFT LCD and PCB production require the most water and thus stand to suffer the most if the water shortage continues. Industry observers indicate that the semiconductor industry would be given priority in government rationing of the water supply, so the impact from the current shortage should be minimal, but semiconductor companies are still concerned.
The water shortage has not yet affected semiconductor shipments, and no reports of orders being withdrawn because of the shortage have surfaced. Weather forecasts say that the chance of rain before mid-May are minimal.
However, the National Science Council (NSC) indicates that the water supply in the Hsinchu Science-Based Science Park (HSIP) should be adequate through the end of June. According to the NSC, if HSIP’s water supply falls 20% short of demand, semiconductor companies would be forced to cease operations for half of their equipment.
Due to concern about the water shortage and US unemployment rate, the TAIEX fell about 4.5% on May 6 as foreign net selling reached NT$2.933 billion. A whopping 98.2% (NT$2.882 billion) of foreign net sales were of TSMC and United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) stock.
digitimes.com |
