News


More quake threats loom over IC industry

11 May 2011 News

Researchers estimate that there are about 80 000 earthquakes globally each year, with most being too minor to notice. Since the earliest days of IC production in Silicon Valley, the IC industry has always had the majority of its fabrication facilities located in seismically active regions. Moreover, it appears that over time, the IC producers and their customers have just come to accept this situation as a fact of life.

Figure 1 shows that in 2010, almost two-thirds of worldwide IC industry capacity was located in seismically active areas. As shown, Japan and Taiwan had essentially the same level of IC capacity in 2010, and, with both countries considered entirely seismically active, had the same amount of IC capacity exposed to potential earthquake damage.

Figure 1
Figure 1

As shown in Figure 2, fully 90% of pure-play IC foundry capacity is located in seismically active regions. Since the two largest IC foundries in the world (TSMC and UMC) have such a significant presence in Taiwan, a disastrous earthquake or typhoon in that country would have serious ramifications for the entire electronics supply chain. In fact, it is IC Insights’ opinion that because IC foundries have so many different customers and are sole-source producers for such a wide variety of part types, the ramifications of damage to IC foundry fabrication facilities would be much greater than damage done to individual IDM IC fabs.

Figure 2
Figure 2

IC Insights was once contracted to perform a proprietary market research report for a large insurance company. This company wanted to develop a model that showed how much in electronic system sales would be lost if the IC fabs in Hsinchu, Taiwan (just one of the Science Parks in Taiwan) were shut down for one, two or three months due to damage caused by an earthquake or typhoon. The bottom line of this report was that for every month the IC fabs in Hsinchu were shut down, the electronic system industry would lose at least $10 billion in sales.

Although the IC industry has always had the majority of its fabrication capacity located in ‘dangerous’ areas, most buyers of ICs do not give this a second thought. Ultimately, all that really can be said about the ability to predict devastating natural disasters is that everything is just fine until one day it is not. However, while these tragic events are impossible to predict, they are not impossible to plan for. IC Insights believes that the 11 March 2011 Japan earthquake might just be the wake-up call that spurs the entire electronics supply chain to create new contingency plans, just in case.

For more information visit www.icinsights.com





Share this article:
Share via emailShare via LinkedInPrint this page

Further reading:

From the editor’s desk: Windows 10’s end of support arrives bringing industrial risks
Technews Publishing News
By the time you read this column, support for non-LTSC editions of Windows 10 will have ended, officially having their last day on 14 October 2025. This means no more security patches, feature updates, ...

Read more...
Electronic News Digest
News
A brief synopsis of current global news relating to the electronic engineering fields with regards to company finances, general company news, and engineering technologies.

Read more...
Correction: Marijana Abt, Rebound Electronics
News
      In the August issue of Dataweek magazine, the article titled ‘Celebrating innovation, leadership, and the next generation’ featured Marijana Abt, senior account manager at Rebound Electronics. Owing ...

Read more...
Trasna and RF Design announce distribution agreement
RF Design News
Trasna and RF Design have announced a strategic distribution agreement for cellular IoT solutions which will ensure seamless availability of Trasna’s cellular connectivity solutions.

Read more...
Local partnership puts demand-side management to work in South Africa
News
Sensor Networks has partnered with European demand-side management specialist ThermoVault to bring advanced load-shifting capabilities to one of the country’s biggest energy consumers: the household geyser.

Read more...
Hisense SA launches year-long learnership programme for youth
News
Hisense SA’s manufacturing plant in Atlantis recently welcomed 100 young people from the local community, to embark on a year-long learnership and skills development programme.

Read more...
Comtest hosts channel partners
Comtest News
Comtest, together with FLUKE, recently set the stage for an unforgettable afternoon as they welcomed over 80 Channel Partners to their annual celebration of excellence.

Read more...
RS South Africa and Qhubeka empower learners through the gift of mobility
RS South Africa News
Through its bicycle donation initiative, 354 bicycles have been distributed to date, empowering students to access education more easily by reducing the physical and economic barriers posed by long daily commutes.

Read more...
Deca and SST announce strategic collaboration
News
The collaboration provides customers with a modular, memory-centric foundation for advanced multi-die architectures.

Read more...
Specialised Exhibitions transitions to new name: Montgomery Group Africa
News
As part of a strategic move to streamline operations, strengthen regional alignment, and support long-term growth, Specialised Exhibitions has transitioned to a new name: Montgomery Group Africa.

Read more...









While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained herein, the publisher and its agents cannot be held responsible for any errors contained, or any loss incurred as a result. Articles published do not necessarily reflect the views of the publishers. The editor reserves the right to alter or cut copy. Articles submitted are deemed to have been cleared for publication. Advertisements and company contact details are published as provided by the advertiser. Technews Publishing (Pty) Ltd cannot be held responsible for the accuracy or veracity of supplied material.




© Technews Publishing (Pty) Ltd | All Rights Reserved