Four Japanese factories — Shin-Etsu Chemical Co. Ltd.’s Shirakawa facility and MEMC Electronic Materials Inc.’s Utsunomiya plant — have halted operations. Those four facilities alone make up a quarter of the global supply of silicon wafers used to make semiconductors, according to IHS iSuppli, a research company. Both companies supply wafers to semiconductor companies around the globe.
The catastrophe in Japan is putting a pinch on 25% of the worldwide production of silicon wafers used to make computer chips, according to a document released Monday.
“Because of this, the suspension of operations at these plants could have wide-ranging implications beyond the Japanese electronics industry,” iSuppli noted in its document. “A 25% reduction in supply could have a major effect on worldwide semiconductor production.”
Researchers also noted that Shin-Etsu’s Shirakawa plant is responsible for 20% of the worldwide silicon semiconductor wafer supply. There reportedly has been significant destroy to the plant’s production facilities and equipment. According to iSuppli, Shin-Etsu is trying to shift production to other facilities, but it is not clear how long that will take.
Japan was rocked by a 9.0 magnitude earthquake, as well as a later tsunami, on March 11. After the preliminary catastrophe, the country then had to deal with a crisis with its damaged nuclear power plants, that, among other things, has caused rolling brownouts and blackouts.
Plenty of roads are still impassible in Japan, and the country’s transportation technique has been staggered. If factories are operating, it is difficult to deliver supplies to them and to get completed product out to customers.
One of the large questions is how long the shortage will go on. “What they don’t know is how long a method this will be. I tend to think that we are speaking in terms of weeks or perhaps a few months,” Olds said. “At this point, I don’t think they can dub this an all-out crisis.”
“What we are seeing now are production stoppages for various reasons,” said Dan Olds, an analyst with The Gabriel Consulting Group. “Some of the plants are in areas unaffected by the quakes but have stopped production due to the magnitude of the general crisis and associated people and logistic issues.”
Olds noted that one hindrance reason that may keep factories from operating is because of the country’s nuclear power plant crisis.
“Japan relied on nuclear power for about 30% of their overall capacity, with that out of the mix, gas and coal-fired generating will must pick up the slack,” they said. “We don’t know in the event that they have existing capacity to handle their industrial and consumer electric needs.”
It Would affect price of computer hardware
The catastrophe in Japan is putting a pinch on 25% of the worldwide production of silicon wafers used to make computer chips, according to a document released Monday.
“Because of this, the suspension of operations at these plants could have wide-ranging implications beyond the Japanese electronics industry,” iSuppli noted in its document. “A 25% reduction in supply could have a major effect on worldwide semiconductor production.”
Researchers also noted that Shin-Etsu’s Shirakawa plant is responsible for 20% of the worldwide silicon semiconductor wafer supply. There reportedly has been significant destroy to the plant’s production facilities and equipment. According to iSuppli, Shin-Etsu is trying to shift production to other facilities, but it is not clear how long that will take.
Japan was rocked by a 9.0 magnitude earthquake, as well as a later tsunami, on March 11. After the preliminary catastrophe, the country then had to deal with a crisis with its damaged nuclear power plants, that, among other things, has caused rolling brownouts and blackouts.
Plenty of roads are still impassible in Japan, and the country’s transportation technique has been staggered. If factories are operating, it is difficult to deliver supplies to them and to get completed product out to customers.
One of the large questions is how long the shortage will go on. “What they don’t know is how long a method this will be. I tend to think that we are speaking in terms of weeks or perhaps a few months,” Olds said. “At this point, I don’t think they can dub this an all-out crisis.”
“What we are seeing now are production stoppages for various reasons,” said Dan Olds, an analyst with The Gabriel Consulting Group. “Some of the plants are in areas unaffected by the quakes but have stopped production due to the magnitude of the general crisis and associated people and logistic issues.”
Olds noted that one hindrance reason that may keep factories from operating is because of the country’s nuclear power plant crisis.
“Japan relied on nuclear power for about 30% of their overall capacity, with that out of the mix, gas and coal-fired generating will must pick up the slack,” they said. “We don’t know in the event that they have existing capacity to handle their industrial and consumer electric needs.”
It Would affect price of computer hardware
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