A series of earthquakes in Taiwan, the largest measuring 7.4, killed at least nine people and injured at least 900. Authorities are still verifying the impact of the quake, the strongest in 25 years, on public infrastructure.
There are already reports that buildings were destroyed by the earthquake, which lasted for an hour and a half. But the big question that many experts still ask is whether the tragedy can extend to the economic and industrial sector of the region; and the consequences this could have for the technology sector around the worldL.
And it escapes no one that Taiwan is one of the largest producers of technological components in the world; and that, more precisely, Its chip factories are among the largest in the sector
Earthquake shakes tech companies
TSMC, one of the world’s largest chipmakers, is one of the worst affected by the Taiwan earthquake; and, therefore, that May affect futures prices on mobilecomputers and other technological devices using chips manufactured by the brand.
The company confirmed a full evacuation in areas affected by the earthquake, resulting in a six-hour shutdown of operations approximately. On the positive side, TSMC confirmed that there were no deaths or injuries among its workforce, thanks to the fact that the evacuation protocols activated from the earthquake were followed.
Firefighters work at the site where a building collapsed after the earthquake in Hualien.
Initial inspections of TSMC factories did not reveal significant damage
Other manufacturers, such as UMC, PSMC and Innolux, have reported similar situations; everyone had to temporarily close many of their factories, but not everything and only as a preventive measure. The epicenter of the earthquake was located in the east of the island, while most of the chip factories are located on the west coast, in the Hsinchu Science and Industrial Park. Thanks to this, in areas like Kaohsiung, production has never stopped.
TSMC chip factory
While a six-hour shutdown at some factories may not seem like much, it can actually affect launches that take place in the coming months. And the technology sector was already in crisis before the earthquakedue to a shortage of chips due to high demand.
All factories in Taiwan already have the coming months, if not years, covered with orders for new chips based on TSMC’s manufacturing process. Companies like Apple, Nvidia and Qualcomm They largely depend on this pace of production which never slows down, in order to meet their own deadlines.
A stoppage of only six hours, as well as possible stops for repairs and machine changes, can be the beginning of a “snowball” this will become very important in the coming months. And delays can result in price increases, especially if production of certain models must be abandoned to start production of the next.
