A powerful earthquake of 7.4 magnitude struck Taiwan, causing temporary disruption in the production of semiconductor chips. The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), which manufactures more than 90% of the world’s most advanced chips, had to halt production briefly. The factories, known as chip fabs, were evacuated for inspections but workers later returned. They are expected to resume chip production throughout the night.
Initial inspections show that there are no major issues at any of the chip sites. However, a small number of tools were damaged at certain facilities, partially impacting their operations. Despite this, there is no damage to the critical tools. TSMC supplies advanced chips for a wide range of applications, from dishwashers to fighter jets, and companies like Apple, Huawei, Nvidia, Tesla, OpenAI, and others depend on the chipmaker.
Analysts have noted that even a short disturbance to chip production in Taiwan could delay shipments and cost many millions of dollars. The exact financial toll of the earthquake is still being assessed. This incident has highlighted the vulnerability of the global economy to disruptions in Taiwan’s semiconductor production. Nearly a third of the new computing power we rely on each year is fabricated in Taiwan, making TSMC one of the most valuable companies in the world. A disaster in Taiwan could potentially cost the global economy trillions.
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