Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Strategies & Market Trends : 2026 TeoTwawKi ... 2032 Darkest Interregnum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: carranza2 who wrote (185235)	3/12/2022 5:14:23 AM
From: TobagoJack	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 217646

Re <<neon gas>> bloomberg.com Chipmakers Need a Supply Chain That Avoids Ukraine The semiconductor industry’s usual source of neon gas has left production vulnerable to geopolitical crises and other disruptions. Tae Kim February 25, 2022, 8:00 PM GMT+8 Vulnerable to disruption. Photographer: Olivier Matthys/Bloomberg The crisis in Ukraine is a stark reminder of a major flaw in the chip industry’s global supply chain: single sourcing for critical supplies. As Russia launched an all-out attack against Ukraine early Thursday, semiconductor makers and tech hardware manufacturers were confronting the prospect that a protracted conflict would interrupt the exports of neon gas, a relatively obscure yet vital component of the chipmaking process. Ukraine is the leading global supplier of purified neon gas used in the majority of advanced chipmaking. Last week, Citi Research analyst Peter Lee warned that any military action in Ukraine could disrupt neon gas supply and interrupt global chip production. While some chipmakers are fortunate to have suppliers outside the region, others are not. According to Lee, makers of memory chips, which are used to store information in electronic devices, hold about six to eight weeks of gas inventory. Ukraine’s large market share of neon gas is difficult to replace. According to research firm TrendForce, Ukraine accounts for roughly 70% of global neon gas exports. The gas is a byproduct of steel-making in older plants that is then purified. While China and the U.S. do have some facilities that can handle neon production and purification, it would take a long time to ramp up to meet demand if Ukrainian supplies were blocked. Moreover, manufacturers outside Ukraine will be reluctant to invest in new capacity if they believe the supply interruption will be temporary. But it’s fair to ask how chipmakers found themselves in this predicament. Although the Ukraine region has been in geopolitical turmoil since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, the chip industry has done little to diversify its sources of neon. That failure is all the more striking in light of widespread shortages of computing chips due to pandemic-related disruptions. The chips are vital to the production of everything from automobiles to factory equipment to video-game consoles. This isn’t the only instance where the industry has become overly reliant on a country in a geopolitical hotspot. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. dominates the global market for high-end chips, found in products including processors inside Apple Inc.’s iPhone, smartphone chips used by Qualcomm Inc. and computer processors for Advanced Micro Devices Inc. U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo has repeatedly said that diversifying production away from Taiwan is a matter of national security. But it doesn’t seem like U.S. companies are listening. The crisis in Ukraine is a reminder that the industry needs to do more to diversify its supply chain, from using more foundries based in other countries to more dual sourcing of essential raw materials. Semiconductor companies have been too complacent for too long. They should realize that viable backup suppliers are essential in an increasingly uncertain world. This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. To contact the author of this story: Tae Kim at tkim426@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Wendy Pollack at wpollack@bloomberg.net Sent from my iPad

To: carranza2 who wrote (185235)	3/12/2022 5:18:36 AM
From: TobagoJack	Respond to of 217646

Re <<neon gas>> https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2022-03-12/-effect-of-war-on-investing-video?sref=Jsv6y4eP

To: carranza2 who wrote (185235)	3/12/2022 5:27:29 AM
From: TobagoJack	2 Recommendations Recommended By marcher pak73 Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 217646

Re <<neon gas>> Rare gases … the fcking fucks knew what was at stake, and they pulled the trigger, because they can pull the trigger and blamed it on Biden as Biden isn’t actually ‘making’ the decisions Message 33705036 March 11th Russia could hit U.S. chip industry, White House warns* … Some chipmakers have been reviewing their supply chains to scan for potential fallout from conflict in Ukraine. One person at a chipmaking company who declined to be named acknowledged that it has been looking into its supply of neon and other gases, some of which originate in Ukraine. "Even if there was a conflict in Ukraine it wouldn't cut off supply. It would drive prices up," the person said. "The market would constrict. Those gases would become pretty scarce. But it wouldn’t stop semiconductor manufacturing," he added. According to one power chip design startup executive, unrest in Ukraine has caused rare gas prices to increase and could cause supply issues. Fluorine is another gas that has a large supply from that part of the world and could be affected, the executive added. William Moss, a spokesperson for Intel Corp , said the chipmaker was not anticipating any impact to neon supply. But the issue is still concerning, because global chip supplies are tight and chip orders are only expected to pick up. Techcet estimates demand for all the materials will rise by more than 37% over the next 4 years, pointing to recent announcements by Intel, Samsung (005930.KS), and Taiwan's TSMC in Ohio, Arizona and Texas. Neon prices rose 600% in the runup to Russia's 2014 annexation of the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine, since chip firms relied on a few Ukrainian companies, according to the U.S. International Trade Commission.