独家
为什么1美元芯片的短缺引发了全球经济危机
全球半导体短缺困扰着全球制造商。
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沃达丰Idea 20%的销售团队员工辞职
因此，沃达丰Idea目前正在寻找替代人选。该电信公司在其领英公司页面上列出了1905个职位空缺，如AGM -预付费营销专员，AGM -预付费营销，AGM -营销分析等。
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要理解价值4500亿美元的半导体行业为何陷入危机，一个有用的切入点是一种价值1美元的显示驱动器。
全球硅产业由数百种不同的芯片组成，高通公司(Qualcomm Inc.)和英特尔公司(Intel Corp.)生产的最耀眼的芯片每个售价从100美元到1,000多美元不等。它们可以运行功能强大的电脑或口袋里闪亮的智能手机。相比之下，显示驱动程序则平淡无奇:它的唯一目的是传达照亮手机、显示器或导航系统屏幕的基本指令。
芯片行业面临的问题是，没有足够的显示驱动程序，汽车制造商等科技行业以外的公司也面临着越来越多的问题。生产这些产品的公司无法跟上激增的需求，因此价格飙升。这导致液晶显示屏供应短缺，成本上升。液晶显示屏是制造电视和笔记本电脑、汽车、飞机和高端冰箱的必备部件。
“这并不是说你可以将就。如果你什么都有，但没有显示驱动程序，那么你就无法生产产品，”桑福德·伯恩斯坦公司(Sanford C. Bernstein)负责半导体行业的史黛西·拉贡(Stacy Rasgon)说。
如今，这类看似无关紧要的部件——比如电源管理芯片也出现供应短缺——的危机正在波及全球经济。福特汽车公司等汽车制造商日产汽车公司(Motor Co.)和大众汽车(Volkswagen AG)已经减产，预计今年汽车业将损失600多亿美元的收入。
情况在好转之前可能会变得更糟。德克萨斯州一场罕见的冬季风暴摧毁了美国的大片生产。日本一家重要工厂的火灾将导致工厂关闭一个月。三星电子(Samsung Electronics Co.)警告称，该行业存在“严重失衡”，台积电(Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.)则表示，尽管工厂开工率超过100%，但仍无法满足需求。
“自我们公司成立20年以来，我从未见过这样的事情，”显示器驱动器领先供应商Himax Technologies Co.的联合创始人兼首席执行官乔丹·吴(Jordan Wu)说。“每个应用程序都缺少芯片。”
2021 -半导体芯片——短缺——内联
芯片危机源于去年冠状病毒大流行时的一个可以理解的误判。当Covid-19开始从中国传播到世界其他地方时，许多公司预计，随着形势变得艰难，人们会减少工作。
“我削减了所有的预测。我以金融危机为模型，”拉根说。“但需求真的很有弹性。”
被困在家里的人们开始购买科技产品，然后持续购买。他们购买了更好的电脑和更大的显示器，以便远程工作。他们给孩子买了新的笔记本电脑用于远程学习。他们买了4K电视、游戏机、牛奶泡沫机、空气炸锅和浸入式搅拌机，让隔离期间的生活更美味。大流行变成了一场延长的黑色星期五在线狂欢。
汽车制造商被打了个措手不及。他们在封锁期间关闭了工厂，因为没有人能去展厅，需求大幅下降。他们要求供应商停止运输零部件，包括对汽车越来越重要的芯片。
去年年底，需求开始回升。人们想出去，他们不想使用公共交通工具。汽车制造商重新开放工厂，向台积电(TSMC)和三星(Samsung)等芯片制造商卑躬屈膝。他们的反应?排在队伍后面。他们生产芯片的速度不够快，无法满足仍然忠实的客户。
一年的糟糕计划导致了汽车制造商的巨大损失芯片短缺
Himax的乔丹·吴(Jordan Wu)正处于科技行业的风暴之中。今年3月的一个上午，这位戴着眼镜的61岁老人同意在台北的办公室开会，讨论电力短缺问题，以及解决这些问题如此具有挑战性的原因。他迫不及待地说，采访安排在彭博新闻社(Bloomberg News)要求采访的当天上午，他的两名工作人员亲自参加，另外两名工作人员通过电话参加。乐动扑克他在整个采访过程中都戴着面具，说话小心而清晰。
2001年，吴炳盛与他的兄弟、现任公司董事长吴炳盛共同创立了喜马公司。他们最初是为笔记本电脑和显示器生产驱动ic(用于集成电路)，这在业界是众所周知的。他们于2006年上市，并随着计算机行业的发展而成长，扩展到智能手机、平板电脑和触摸屏领域。他们的芯片现在被用于许多产品，从手机、电视到汽车．
吴解释说，他不能通过加大员工的工作力度来生产更多的展示司机。Himax设计显示驱动器，然后让台积电(TSMC)或联华电子(United Microelectronics Corp.)等代工厂生产。他的芯片采用的是被巧妙地称为“成熟节点”的技术，这种设备至少落后尖端工艺几代。这些机器在硅上蚀刻线的宽度为16纳米或更大，而高端芯片的宽度为5纳米。
由于需求强劲，芯片制造商的股价飙升
瓶颈是这些成熟的芯片生产线正在全速运转。吴说，新冠疫情推动了如此强劲的需求，以至于制造合作伙伴无法为电脑、电视和游戏机上的所有面板生产足够多的显示驱动器，再加上公司正在为冰箱、智能温度计和汽车娱乐系统等所有新产品安装屏幕。
用于汽车系统的驱动ic受到了特别的挤压，因为它们通常是用8英寸的硅片制成的，而不是更先进的12英寸硅片。领先的晶圆制造商之一Sumco Corp.报告称，2020年8英寸设备生产线的产能约为每月5000片，低于2017年的水平。
没有人在建造更多成熟节点的生产线，因为这在经济上没有意义。现有的产品线完全贬值，并经过微调以获得近乎完美的产量，这意味着基本的显示驱动程序可以以不到一美元的价格制造，而更高级的版本也不会多出多少。购买新设备并以较低的产量开始将意味着更高的支出。
“建设新的产能太昂贵了，”吴说。同样位于台湾的诺瓦泰克微电子公司(Novatek Microelectronics Corp.)等同行也有同样的限制。
液晶显示器(LCD)价格的飙升正体现出这一缺口。从2020年1月到今年3月，用于电视的50英寸液晶面板价格翻了一番。彭博资讯(Bloomberg Intelligence)的马修•坎特曼(Matthew Kanterman)预计，LCD价格至少将持续上涨至第三季度。他说，显示驱动芯片“严重短缺”。
液晶显示器价格飙升
更糟糕的是缺少玻璃。各大玻璃生产商都报告了生产现场发生的事故，其中包括去年12月日本电气玻璃公司(Nippon Electric glass Co.)的一家工厂停电，以及今年1月AGC Fine Techno Korea的一家工厂发生爆炸。显示器咨询公司DSCC联合创始人田村吉夫表示，至少到今年夏天，生产可能仍将受到限制。
4月1日，日本主要电脑外围设备制造商I-O Data Device公司将其26款液晶显示器的价格平均上调了5000日元，这是该公司自20年前开始销售液晶显示器以来的最大涨幅。该公司一位发言人说，由于零部件成本上升，如果不提价，公司就无法盈利。
所有这些都对喜马司的业务有利。销量猛增，股价自去年11月以来上涨了两倍。
但这位CEO并没有为此庆祝。他的整个业务都是建立在满足客户需求的基础上的，所以他无法在如此关键的时刻满足他们的要求，这让他感到沮丧。他预计，尤其是汽车零部件市场的危机不会很快结束。
“我们还没有达到可以看到隧道尽头的光的位置，”吴说。
全球硅产业由数百种不同的芯片组成，高通公司(Qualcomm Inc.)和英特尔公司(Intel Corp.)生产的最耀眼的芯片每个售价从100美元到1,000多美元不等。它们可以运行功能强大的电脑或口袋里闪亮的智能手机。相比之下，显示驱动程序则平淡无奇:它的唯一目的是传达照亮手机、显示器或导航系统屏幕的基本指令。
芯片行业面临的问题是，没有足够的显示驱动程序，汽车制造商等科技行业以外的公司也面临着越来越多的问题。生产这些产品的公司无法跟上激增的需求，因此价格飙升。这导致液晶显示屏供应短缺，成本上升。液晶显示屏是制造电视和笔记本电脑、汽车、飞机和高端冰箱的必备部件。
如今，这类看似无关紧要的部件——比如电源管理芯片也出现供应短缺——的危机正在波及全球经济。福特汽车公司等汽车制造商日产汽车公司(Motor Co.)和大众汽车(Volkswagen AG)已经减产，预计今年汽车业将损失600多亿美元的收入。
情况在好转之前可能会变得更糟。德克萨斯州一场罕见的冬季风暴摧毁了美国的大片生产。日本一家重要工厂的火灾将导致工厂关闭一个月。三星电子(Samsung Electronics Co.)警告称，该行业存在“严重失衡”，台积电(Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.)则表示，尽管工厂开工率超过100%，但仍无法满足需求。
“自我们公司成立20年以来，我从未见过这样的事情，”显示器驱动器领先供应商Himax Technologies Co.的联合创始人兼首席执行官乔丹·吴(Jordan Wu)说。“每个应用程序都缺少芯片。”
芯片危机源于去年冠状病毒大流行时的一个可以理解的误判。当Covid-19开始从中国传播到世界其他地方时，许多公司预计，随着形势变得艰难，人们会减少工作。
“我削减了所有的预测。我以金融危机为模型，”拉根说。“但需求真的很有弹性。”
被困在家里的人们开始购买科技产品，然后持续购买。他们购买了更好的电脑和更大的显示器，以便远程工作。他们给孩子买了新的笔记本电脑用于远程学习。他们买了4K电视、游戏机、牛奶泡沫机、空气炸锅和浸入式搅拌机，让隔离期间的生活更美味。大流行变成了一场延长的黑色星期五在线狂欢。
汽车制造商被打了个措手不及。他们在封锁期间关闭了工厂，因为没有人能去展厅，需求大幅下降。他们要求供应商停止运输零部件，包括对汽车越来越重要的芯片。
去年年底，需求开始回升。人们想出去，他们不想使用公共交通工具。汽车制造商重新开放工厂，向台积电(TSMC)和三星(Samsung)等芯片制造商卑躬屈膝。他们的反应?排在队伍后面。他们生产芯片的速度不够快，无法满足仍然忠实的客户。
一年的糟糕计划导致了汽车制造商的巨大损失芯片短缺
Himax的乔丹·吴(Jordan Wu)正处于科技行业的风暴之中。今年3月的一个上午，这位戴着眼镜的61岁老人同意在台北的办公室开会，讨论电力短缺问题，以及解决这些问题如此具有挑战性的原因。他迫不及待地说，采访安排在彭博新闻社(Bloomberg News)要求采访的当天上午，他的两名工作人员亲自参加，另外两名工作人员通过电话参加。乐动扑克他在整个采访过程中都戴着面具，说话小心而清晰。
2001年，吴炳盛与他的兄弟、现任公司董事长吴炳盛共同创立了喜马公司。他们最初是为笔记本电脑和显示器生产驱动ic(用于集成电路)，这在业界是众所周知的。他们于2006年上市，并随着计算机行业的发展而成长，扩展到智能手机、平板电脑和触摸屏领域。他们的芯片现在被用于许多产品，从手机、电视到汽车．
吴解释说，他不能通过加大员工的工作力度来生产更多的展示司机。Himax设计显示驱动器，然后让台积电(TSMC)或联华电子(United Microelectronics Corp.)等代工厂生产。他的芯片采用的是被巧妙地称为“成熟节点”的技术，这种设备至少落后尖端工艺几代。这些机器在硅上蚀刻线的宽度为16纳米或更大，而高端芯片的宽度为5纳米。
由于需求强劲，芯片制造商的股价飙升
瓶颈是这些成熟的芯片生产线正在全速运转。吴说，新冠疫情推动了如此强劲的需求，以至于制造合作伙伴无法为电脑、电视和游戏机上的所有面板生产足够多的显示驱动器，再加上公司正在为冰箱、智能温度计和汽车娱乐系统等所有新产品安装屏幕。
用于汽车系统的驱动ic受到了特别的挤压，因为它们通常是用8英寸的硅片制成的，而不是更先进的12英寸硅片。领先的晶圆制造商之一Sumco Corp.报告称，2020年8英寸设备生产线的产能约为每月5000片，低于2017年的水平。
没有人在建造更多成熟节点的生产线，因为这在经济上没有意义。现有的产品线完全贬值，并经过微调以获得近乎完美的产量，这意味着基本的显示驱动程序可以以不到一美元的价格制造，而更高级的版本也不会多出多少。购买新设备并以较低的产量开始将意味着更高的支出。
“建设新的产能太昂贵了，”吴说。同样位于台湾的诺瓦泰克微电子公司(Novatek Microelectronics Corp.)等同行也有同样的限制。
液晶显示器(LCD)价格的飙升正体现出这一缺口。从2020年1月到今年3月，用于电视的50英寸液晶面板价格翻了一番。彭博资讯(Bloomberg Intelligence)的马修•坎特曼(Matthew Kanterman)预计，LCD价格至少将持续上涨至第三季度。他说，显示驱动芯片“严重短缺”。
液晶显示器价格飙升
更糟糕的是缺少玻璃。各大玻璃生产商都报告了生产现场发生的事故，其中包括去年12月日本电气玻璃公司(Nippon Electric glass Co.)的一家工厂停电，以及今年1月AGC Fine Techno Korea的一家工厂发生爆炸。显示器咨询公司DSCC联合创始人田村吉夫表示，至少到今年夏天，生产可能仍将受到限制。
4月1日，日本主要电脑外围设备制造商I-O Data Device公司将其26款液晶显示器的价格平均上调了5000日元，这是该公司自20年前开始销售液晶显示器以来的最大涨幅。该公司一位发言人说，由于零部件成本上升，如果不提价，公司就无法盈利。
所有这些都对喜马司的业务有利。销量猛增，股价自去年11月以来上涨了两倍。
但这位CEO并没有为此庆祝。他的整个业务都是建立在满足客户需求的基础上的，所以他无法在如此关键的时刻满足他们的要求，这让他感到沮丧。他预计，尤其是汽车零部件市场的危机不会很快结束。
“我们还没有达到可以看到隧道尽头的光的位置，”吴说。
To understand why the $450 billion semiconductor industry has lurched into crisis, a helpful place to start is a one-dollar part called a display driver.
Hundreds of different kinds of chips make up the global silicon industry, with the flashiest ones from Qualcomm Inc. and Intel Corp. going for $100 apiece to more than $1,000. Those run powerful computers or the shiny smartphone in your pocket. A display driver is mundane by contrast: Its sole purpose is to convey basic instructions for illuminating the screen on your phone, monitor or navigation system.
The trouble for the chip industry -- and increasingly companies beyond tech, like automakers -- is that there aren\u2019t enough display drivers to go around. Firms that make them can\u2019t keep up with surging demand so prices are spiking. That\u2019s contributing to short supplies and increasing costs for liquid crystal display panels, essential components for making televisions and laptops, as well as cars, airplanes and high-end refrigerators.
Hundreds of different kinds of chips make up the global silicon industry, with the flashiest ones from Qualcomm Inc. and Intel Corp. going for $100 apiece to more than $1,000. Those run powerful computers or the shiny smartphone in your pocket. A display driver is mundane by contrast: Its sole purpose is to convey basic instructions for illuminating the screen on your phone, monitor or navigation system.
The trouble for the chip industry -- and increasingly companies beyond tech, like automakers -- is that there aren\u2019t enough display drivers to go around. Firms that make them can\u2019t keep up with surging demand so prices are spiking. That\u2019s contributing to short supplies and increasing costs for liquid crystal display panels, essential components for making televisions and laptops, as well as cars, airplanes and high-end refrigerators.
<\/div><\/div>\u201cIt\u2019s not like you can just make do. If you have everything else, but you don\u2019t have a display driver, then you can\u2019t build your product,\u201d says Stacy Rasgon, who covers the semiconductor industry for Sanford C. Bernstein.
Now the crunch in a handful of such seemingly insignificant parts -- power management chips are also in short supply, for example -- is cascading through the global economy. Automakers like Ford Motor Co., Nissan<\/a> Motor Co. and Volkswagen AG have already scaled back production, leading to estimates for more than $60 billion in lost revenue for the industry this year.
The situation is likely to get worse before it gets better. A rare winter storm in Texas knocked out swaths of U.S. production. A fire at a key Japan factory will shut the facility for a month. Samsung Electronics Co. warned of a \u201cserious imbalance\u201d in the industry, while Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. said it can\u2019t keep up with demand despite running factories at more than 100% of capacity.
\u201cI have never seen anything like this in the past 20 years since our company\u2019s founding,\u201d said Jordan Wu, co-founder and chief executive officer of Himax Technologies Co., a leading supplier of display drivers. \u201cEvery application is short of chips.\u201d
Now the crunch in a handful of such seemingly insignificant parts -- power management chips are also in short supply, for example -- is cascading through the global economy. Automakers like Ford Motor Co., Nissan<\/a> Motor Co. and Volkswagen AG have already scaled back production, leading to estimates for more than $60 billion in lost revenue for the industry this year.
The situation is likely to get worse before it gets better. A rare winter storm in Texas knocked out swaths of U.S. production. A fire at a key Japan factory will shut the facility for a month. Samsung Electronics Co. warned of a \u201cserious imbalance\u201d in the industry, while Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. said it can\u2019t keep up with demand despite running factories at more than 100% of capacity.
\u201cI have never seen anything like this in the past 20 years since our company\u2019s founding,\u201d said Jordan Wu, co-founder and chief executive officer of Himax Technologies Co., a leading supplier of display drivers. \u201cEvery application is short of chips.\u201d
<\/div><\/div>2021-semiconductors-chips-shortage-inline
The chip crunch was born out of an understandable miscalculation as the coronavirus pandemic hit last year. When Covid-19 began spreading from China to the rest of the world, many companies anticipated people would cut back as times got tough.
\u201cI slashed all my projections. I was using the financial crisis as the model,\u201d says Rasgon. \u201cBut demand was just really resilient.\u201d
People stuck at home started buying technology -- and then kept buying. They purchased better computers and bigger displays so they could work remotely. They got their kids new laptops for distance learning. They scooped up 4K televisions, game consoles, milk frothers, air fryers and immersion blenders to make life under quarantine more palatable. The pandemic turned into an extended Black Friday onlinepalooza.
Automakers were blindsided. They shut factories during the lockdown while demand crashed because no one could get to showrooms. They told suppliers to stop shipping components, including the chips that are increasingly essential for cars.
Then late last year, demand began to pick up. People wanted to get out and they didn\u2019t want to use public transportation. Automakers reopened factories and went hat in hand to chipmakers like TSMC and Samsung. Their response? Back of the line. They couldn\u2019t make chips fast enough for their still-loyal customers.
A year of poor planning led to carmakers\u2019 massive chip shortage<\/a><\/strong>
Himax\u2019s Jordan Wu is in the middle of the tech industry\u2019s tempest. On a recent March morning, the bespectacled 61-year-old agreed to meet at his Taipei office to discuss the shortages and why they are so challenging to resolve. He was eager enough to talk that interview was scheduled for the same morning Bloomberg News requested it, with two of his staff joining in person and another two dialing in by phone. He wore a mask throughout the interview, speaking carefully and articulately.
Wu founded Himax in 2001 with his brother Biing-seng, now the company\u2019s chairman. They started out making driver ICs (for integrated circuits), as they\u2019re known in the industry, for notebook computers and monitors. They went public in 2006 and grew with the computer industry, expanding into smartphones, tablets and touch screens. Their chips are now used in scores of products, from phones and televisions to automobiles<\/a>.
Wu explained that he can\u2019t make more display drivers by pushing his workforce harder. Himax designs display drivers and then has them manufactured at a foundry like TSMC or United Microelectronics Corp. His chips are made on what\u2019s artfully called \u201cmature node\u201d technology, equipment at least a couple generations behind the cutting-edge processes. These machines etch lines in silicon at a width of 16 nanometers or more, compared with 5 nanometers for high-end chips.?
The chip's makers have seen their shares soar with strong demand
The bottleneck is that these mature chip-making lines are running flat out. Wu says the pandemic drove such strong demand that manufacturing partners can\u2019t make enough display drivers for all the panels that go into computers, televisions and game consoles -- plus all the new products that companies are putting screens into, like refrigerators, smart thermometers and car-entertainment systems.
There\u2019s been a particular squeeze in driver ICs for automotive systems because they\u2019re usually made on 8-inch silicon wafers, rather than more advanced 12-inch wafers. Sumco Corp., one of the leading wafer manufacturers, reported production capacity for 8-inch equipment lines was about 5,000 wafers a month in 2020 -- less than it was in 2017.
No one is building more mature-node manufacturing lines because it doesn\u2019t make economic sense. The existing lines are fully depreciated and fine-tuned for almost perfect yields, meaning basic display drivers can be made for less than a dollar and more advanced versions for not much more. Buying new equipment and starting off at lower yields would mean much higher expenses.
\u201cBuilding new capacity is too expensive,\u201d Wu says. Peers like Novatek Microelectronics Corp., also based in Taiwan, have the same constraints.
That shortfall is showing up in a spike in LCD prices. A 50-inch LCD panel for televisions doubled in price between January 2020 and this March. Bloomberg Intelligence\u2019s Matthew Kanterman projects that LCD prices will keep rising at least until the third quarter. There is a \u201ca dire shortage\u201d of display driver chips, he said.
LCD prices are surging<\/strong>
Aggravating the situation is a lack of glass. Major glass makers reported accidents at their production sites, including a blackout at a Nippon Electric Glass Co.\u2019s factory in December and an explosion at AGC Fine Techno Korea\u2019s factory in January. Production will likely remain constrained at least through summer this year, display consultancy DSCC Co-founder Yoshio Tamura said.
On April 1, I-O Data Device Inc., a major Japanese computer peripherals maker, raised the price of their 26 LCD monitors by 5,000 yen on average, the biggest increase since they began selling the monitors two decades ago. A spokeswoman said the company can\u2019t make any profit without the increases due to rising costs for components.
All of this has been a boon to Himax\u2019s business. Sales are surging and its stock price has tripled since November.
But the CEO isn\u2019t celebrating. His whole business is built around giving customers what they want, so his inability to meet their requests at such a critical time is frustrating. He doesn\u2019t expect the crunch, especially for automotive components, to end any time soon.
\u201cWe have not reached a position where we can see the light at the end of tunnel yet,\u201d Wu said.
<\/div><\/div>
The chip crunch was born out of an understandable miscalculation as the coronavirus pandemic hit last year. When Covid-19 began spreading from China to the rest of the world, many companies anticipated people would cut back as times got tough.
\u201cI slashed all my projections. I was using the financial crisis as the model,\u201d says Rasgon. \u201cBut demand was just really resilient.\u201d
People stuck at home started buying technology -- and then kept buying. They purchased better computers and bigger displays so they could work remotely. They got their kids new laptops for distance learning. They scooped up 4K televisions, game consoles, milk frothers, air fryers and immersion blenders to make life under quarantine more palatable. The pandemic turned into an extended Black Friday onlinepalooza.
Automakers were blindsided. They shut factories during the lockdown while demand crashed because no one could get to showrooms. They told suppliers to stop shipping components, including the chips that are increasingly essential for cars.
Then late last year, demand began to pick up. People wanted to get out and they didn\u2019t want to use public transportation. Automakers reopened factories and went hat in hand to chipmakers like TSMC and Samsung. Their response? Back of the line. They couldn\u2019t make chips fast enough for their still-loyal customers.
A year of poor planning led to carmakers\u2019 massive chip shortage<\/a><\/strong>
Himax\u2019s Jordan Wu is in the middle of the tech industry\u2019s tempest. On a recent March morning, the bespectacled 61-year-old agreed to meet at his Taipei office to discuss the shortages and why they are so challenging to resolve. He was eager enough to talk that interview was scheduled for the same morning Bloomberg News requested it, with two of his staff joining in person and another two dialing in by phone. He wore a mask throughout the interview, speaking carefully and articulately.
Wu founded Himax in 2001 with his brother Biing-seng, now the company\u2019s chairman. They started out making driver ICs (for integrated circuits), as they\u2019re known in the industry, for notebook computers and monitors. They went public in 2006 and grew with the computer industry, expanding into smartphones, tablets and touch screens. Their chips are now used in scores of products, from phones and televisions to automobiles<\/a>.
Wu explained that he can\u2019t make more display drivers by pushing his workforce harder. Himax designs display drivers and then has them manufactured at a foundry like TSMC or United Microelectronics Corp. His chips are made on what\u2019s artfully called \u201cmature node\u201d technology, equipment at least a couple generations behind the cutting-edge processes. These machines etch lines in silicon at a width of 16 nanometers or more, compared with 5 nanometers for high-end chips.?
The chip's makers have seen their shares soar with strong demand
The bottleneck is that these mature chip-making lines are running flat out. Wu says the pandemic drove such strong demand that manufacturing partners can\u2019t make enough display drivers for all the panels that go into computers, televisions and game consoles -- plus all the new products that companies are putting screens into, like refrigerators, smart thermometers and car-entertainment systems.
There\u2019s been a particular squeeze in driver ICs for automotive systems because they\u2019re usually made on 8-inch silicon wafers, rather than more advanced 12-inch wafers. Sumco Corp., one of the leading wafer manufacturers, reported production capacity for 8-inch equipment lines was about 5,000 wafers a month in 2020 -- less than it was in 2017.
No one is building more mature-node manufacturing lines because it doesn\u2019t make economic sense. The existing lines are fully depreciated and fine-tuned for almost perfect yields, meaning basic display drivers can be made for less than a dollar and more advanced versions for not much more. Buying new equipment and starting off at lower yields would mean much higher expenses.
\u201cBuilding new capacity is too expensive,\u201d Wu says. Peers like Novatek Microelectronics Corp., also based in Taiwan, have the same constraints.
That shortfall is showing up in a spike in LCD prices. A 50-inch LCD panel for televisions doubled in price between January 2020 and this March. Bloomberg Intelligence\u2019s Matthew Kanterman projects that LCD prices will keep rising at least until the third quarter. There is a \u201ca dire shortage\u201d of display driver chips, he said.
LCD prices are surging<\/strong>
Aggravating the situation is a lack of glass. Major glass makers reported accidents at their production sites, including a blackout at a Nippon Electric Glass Co.\u2019s factory in December and an explosion at AGC Fine Techno Korea\u2019s factory in January. Production will likely remain constrained at least through summer this year, display consultancy DSCC Co-founder Yoshio Tamura said.
On April 1, I-O Data Device Inc., a major Japanese computer peripherals maker, raised the price of their 26 LCD monitors by 5,000 yen on average, the biggest increase since they began selling the monitors two decades ago. A spokeswoman said the company can\u2019t make any profit without the increases due to rising costs for components.
All of this has been a boon to Himax\u2019s business. Sales are surging and its stock price has tripled since November.
But the CEO isn\u2019t celebrating. His whole business is built around giving customers what they want, so his inability to meet their requests at such a critical time is frustrating. He doesn\u2019t expect the crunch, especially for automotive components, to end any time soon.
\u201cWe have not reached a position where we can see the light at the end of tunnel yet,\u201d Wu said.
<\/div><\/div>
Follow and connect with us on Twitter<\/a>, Facebook<\/a>, Linkedin<\/a>, Youtube<\/a><\/div>","NumberOfSentences":{"minfo":"83.0","minfoseo":"83-0"},"AutomatedReadabilityIndex":{"minfo":"14.0","minfoseo":"14-0"},"LastPublishMilliTime":{"minfo":"1617688876517","minfoseo":"1617688876517"},"ReadabilityGradeLevel":{"minfo":"College","minfoseo":"college"},"GadgetsMarkedReviewed":{"minfo":"0","minfoseo":"0"},"HashCode":{"minfo":"1812920120","minfoseo":"1812920120"},"latestnewsflag":{"minfo":"1.0","minfoseo":"1-0"},"NumberOfCharacters":{"minfo":"7975.0","minfoseo":"7975-0"},"NumberOfWords":{"minfo":"1278.0","minfoseo":"1278-0"},"key":{"0":{"keyid":"10389950","value":"chip shortage","smid":"0","keynameseo":"chip-shortage","keytype":"","keycount":"totalcount","weightage":"100"},"1":{"keyid":"8444413","value":"Xbox Series X","smid":"0","keynameseo":"Xbox-Series-X","keytype":"","keycount":"totalcount","weightage":"20"},"2":{"keyid":"88157","value":"VW","smid":"0","keynameseo":"VW","keytype":"","keycount":"totalcount","weightage":"20"},"3":{"keyid":"318522","value":"semiconductor chips","smid":"0","keynameseo":"semiconductor-chips","keytype":"","keycount":"totalcount","weightage":"20"},"4":{"keyid":"653591","value":"Qulacomm","smid":"0","keynameseo":"Qulacomm","keytype":"","keycount":"totalcount","weightage":"20"},"5":{"keyid":"2421871","value":"PS5","smid":"0","keynameseo":"PS5","keytype":"","keycount":"totalcount","weightage":"20"},"6":{"keyid":"46283","value":"Nissan","smid":"0","keynameseo":"Nissan","keytype":"","keycount":"totalcount","weightage":"20"},"7":{"keyid":"6355174","value":"ford","smid":"0","keynameseo":"ford","keytype":"","keycount":"totalcount","weightage":"20"},"9":{"keyid":"6381299","value":"automobiles","smid":"0","keynameseo":"automobiles","keytype":"","keycount":"totalcount","weightage":"20"}},"authorsplit":[],"similarlytagged":[{"msid":"96890339","stname":"India networking market grew 22% in July-September 2022","artsyn":"Demand for networking equipment seemed to be unaffected by challenges like delays in delivery, price increases, and a slowing global economy thanks to an increased demand towards wireless owing to hybrid work and technologies like 5G.","seolocation":"telecomnews\/india-networking-market-grew-22-in-july-september-2022","seolocationalt":"India networking market grew 22% in July-September 2022","url_seo":"india-networking-market-grew-22-in-july-september-2022"},{"msid":"95423099","stname":"Bosch CEO: Inflation to weigh on margin but could ease chip shortage","artsyn":"Inflation, at record highs in Europe, also meant the supplier had to grow revenues faster to keep its forecast margin for 2022 of 4%, equal to last year. Even then, Bosch would be far below its target margin of 7%, Hartung said.","seolocation":"telecomnews\/bosch-ceo-inflation-to-weigh-on-margin-but-could-ease-chip-shortage","seolocationalt":"Bosch CEO: Inflation to weigh on margin but could ease chip shortage","url_seo":"bosch-ceo-inflation-to-weigh-on-margin-but-could-ease-chip-shortage"},{"msid":"94871191","stname":"Some EU countries want billion-euro chip plan to also fund current chips","artsyn":"The EU executive however said the 45-billion-euro ($43.7 billion) plan allows state funding only for European \"first-of-a-kind\" production facilities. The proposal needs to be thrashed out with EU countries and lawmakers before it can become law.","seolocation":"telecomnews\/some-eu-countries-want-billion-euro-chip-plan-to-also-fund-current-chips","seolocationalt":"Some EU countries want billion-euro chip plan to also fund current chips","url_seo":"some-eu-countries-want-billion-euro-chip-plan-to-also-fund-current-chips"},{"msid":"94707897","stname":"Taiwan Sept exports drop for first time in two years, outlook poor","artsyn":"Exports fell 5.3% in September from a year earlier to $37.53 billion, the Ministry of Finance said on Friday, logging a contraction for the first time since June 2020.","seolocation":"telecomnews\/taiwan-sept-exports-drop-for-first-time-in-two-years-outlook-poor","seolocationalt":"Taiwan Sept exports drop for first time in two years, outlook poor","url_seo":"taiwan-sept-exports-drop-for-first-time-in-two-years-outlook-poor"},{"msid":"94550438","stname":"Japan to give Micron Technology up to $320 mln to boost chip output in Hiroshima","artsyn":"The financial aid announcement, which follows the visit to Japan by U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, is the latest example of growing cooperation between Washington and Tokyo in chip manufacturing amid growing tension and an intensifying technology rivalry with China.","seolocation":"telecomnews\/japan-to-give-micron-technology-up-to-320-mln-to-boost-chip-output-in-hiroshima","seolocationalt":"Japan to give Micron Technology up to $320 mln to boost chip output in Hiroshima","url_seo":"japan-to-give-micron-technology-up-to-320-mln-to-boost-chip-output-in-hiroshima"},{"msid":"94499623","stname":"Apple cuts back on iPhone production amid dwindling demand","artsyn":"Apple has informed its suppliers about cutting back the assembly of as many as 6 million iPhone 14 variants in the year's second half.","seolocation":"telecomnews\/apple-cuts-back-on-iphone-production-amid-dwindling-demand","seolocationalt":"Apple cuts back on iPhone production amid dwindling demand","url_seo":"apple-cuts-back-on-iphone-production-amid-dwindling-demand"},{"msid":"94050873","stname":"India needs to be self-reliant in semi-conductor technology: Adani","artsyn":"Due to global shortage of semi-conductor chips, which are vital for running everything from cars to computers to aircrafts and military equipments, industries are suffering, Adani said.","seolocation":"telecomnews\/india-needs-to-be-self-reliant-in-semi-conductor-technology-adani","seolocationalt":"India needs to be self-reliant in semi-conductor technology: Adani","url_seo":"india-needs-to-be-self-reliant-in-semi-conductor-technology-adani"},{"msid":"94039236","stname":"U.S. Commerce aims to seek chips funding proposals by February","artsyn":"Congress in August approved $52.7 billion for semiconductor manufacturing and research and a 25% investment tax credit for chip plants, estimated to be worth $24 billion. 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The law aims to alleviate a persistent shortage that has affected everything from cars and weapons to washing machines and video games by subsidizing U.S. chip manufacturing and expanding research funding.","seolocation":"telecomnews\/biden-to-sign-order-on-52-billion-chips-law-implementation","seolocationalt":"Biden to sign order on $52 billion chips law implementation","url_seo":"biden-to-sign-order-on-52-billion-chips-law-implementation"},{"msid":"93483155","stname":"Foxconn starts to feel sting of slowing smartphone sales","artsyn":"Foxconn has been largely shielded from these demand problems so far as the popularity of iPhones has endured among a loyal and relatively affluent customer base, and it said on Wednesday that rising inflation will only have a limited impact on mid- to high-end smartphone demand in the rest of the year.","seolocation":"telecomnews\/foxconn-starts-to-feel-sting-of-slowing-smartphone-sales","seolocationalt":"Foxconn starts to feel sting of slowing smartphone sales","url_seo":"foxconn-starts-to-feel-sting-of-slowing-smartphone-sales"},{"msid":"93474790","stname":"Apple supplier Foxconn's Q2 profit up 12% on cloud demand","artsyn":"Foxconn, the world's largest contract electronics maker, said net profit for the April-June quarter rose to T$33.29 billion from T$29.78 billion a year earlier.","seolocation":"telecomnews\/apple-supplier-foxconns-q2-profit-up-12-on-cloud-demand","seolocationalt":"Apple supplier Foxconn's Q2 profit up 12% on cloud demand","url_seo":"apple-supplier-foxconns-q2-profit-up-12-on-cloud-demand"},{"msid":"93175434","stname":"U.S. Senate passes bill to boost chip manufacturing, compete with China","artsyn":"The \"Chips and Science\" act provides about $52 billion in government subsidies for U.S. semiconductor production and an investment tax credit for chip plants estimated to be worth $24 billion.","seolocation":"telecomnews\/u-s-senate-passes-bill-to-boost-chip-manufacturing-compete-with-china","seolocationalt":"U.S. Senate passes bill to boost chip manufacturing, compete with China","url_seo":"u-s-senate-passes-bill-to-boost-chip-manufacturing-compete-with-china"},{"msid":"93160233","stname":"Gartner forecasts chip sales growth to slow down in 2022, fall next year","artsyn":"The research firm said that rising inflation and higher energy and fuel costs are putting pressure on consumer disposable income, affecting spending on electronic products such as PCs and smartphones.","seolocation":"telecomnews\/gartner-forecasts-chip-sales-growth-to-slow-down-in-2022-fall-next-year","seolocationalt":"Gartner forecasts chip sales growth to slow down in 2022, fall next year","url_seo":"gartner-forecasts-chip-sales-growth-to-slow-down-in-2022-fall-next-year"},{"msid":"93006600","stname":"Smartphone shipments within China up 9.1% year-on-year in June-govt data","artsyn":"Shipments were up from about 25.2 million handsets in June 2021 and 20.6 million in May 2022, according to the CAICT, a state-backed think-tank.","seolocation":"telecomnews\/smartphone-shipments-within-china-up-9-1-year-on-year-in-june-govt-data","seolocationalt":"Smartphone shipments within China up 9.1% year-on-year in June-govt data","url_seo":"smartphone-shipments-within-china-up-9-1-year-on-year-in-june-govt-data"},{"msid":"92944534","stname":"Chip issue may continue into next year: Siemens MD Sunil Mathur","artsyn":"\"The availability of semiconductors is a global challenge, and in my assessment this will continue well into next year. We are not seeing any easing yet of the semiconductor supply chain.\"","seolocation":"telecomnews\/chip-issue-may-continue-into-next-year-siemens-md-sunil-mathur","seolocationalt":"Chip issue may continue into next year: Siemens MD Sunil Mathur","url_seo":"chip-issue-may-continue-into-next-year-siemens-md-sunil-mathur"},{"msid":"92901698","stname":"TomTom sticks with revenue and cashflow guidance, giving shares a boost","artsyn":"The confirmation of TomTom's guidance helped to drive the company's shares up more than 12%, putting them on course for their strongest day in almost four years. 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