Apple's chip production has largely returned to normal following the massive earthquake in Taiwan, thanks in part to world-class measures on mitigation of seismic impacts” at TSMC factories.
Some factories were temporarily evacuated to ensure the safety of employees, and some damage was caused, the most severe of which appears to have been to the company's most advanced equipment. plant using the 2nm process expected to be used for iPhone 17 Pro chips …
Major earthquake in Taiwan
The largest earthquake in 25 years hit Taiwan on Wednesday morning, killing nine people and injuring more than 1,000 injuries. Hundreds of people were also trapped in the tunnels for a time, and others were stranded in the national park after the escape routes were damaged.
The casualty rate was so low due to a combination of the location of the epicenter and extremely high construction standards, designed to withstand heavy impacts.
Given the extremely precise nature of the advanced chip, there were concerns that chip manufacturing equipment and wafers could have been seriously damaged, potentially disrupting Apple's product supply chain. However, the impact appears to have been limited.
Apple chip production largely returned to its original place. on the right track
TrendForce says its analysis shows that while TSMC's factories did suffer some damage, the advanced construction methods used meant that damage was limited.
Most of the wafer manufacturing plants were located in areas that experienced Level 4 shaking. Thanks to the high construction standards of Taiwan's semiconductor foundries, which are equipped with world-class seismic mitigation measures capable of reducing seismic impacts by 1-2 levels, factories have largely been able to quickly resume operations after shutdowns due to inspections. /p>
Although there were instances of wafer failure or damage due to emergency shutdowns or earthquake damage, the capacity utilization rate of mature process plants – averaging 50-80% – meant that losses were quickly recovered once operations resumed . which results in only a minor performance impact.
Most advanced 2- nm plant worst hit
The most severe damage appears to have occurred at a plant known as Fab 12, which pre-fabricates the 2nm chips expected to be used in iPhone models 17 Pro.
Only Fab 12 suffered some hardware water damage due to broken pipes, which mainly affected the not-yet-in-production 2nm process. This is expected to have a short-term impact on operations, which may result in the need to purchase new equipment, which will slightly increase capital costs.
Other facilities have resumed operations after inspections with no reports of significant damage, and operations at other facilities resumed work after inspections. After evacuation or inspection, the facilities gradually returned to normal.
Photo by Alex Wong on Unsplash
