At present, all countries around the world are facing the severe problem of chip shortage. At this critical moment, companies in the chip supply chain should make a lot of money. However, the most representative TSMC and Samsung have been in some bad situations recently. It can be said that if is not careful, it will decline from prosperity to . What exactly happened? TSMC and Samsung two behemoths, why did they end up in such a dilemma?
Let Mu Yi come to you one by one today.
[Two major companies that goat into the tiger's mouth]
Not long ago, the United States held a semiconductor conference , inviting famous semiconductor manufacturers such as TSMC and Samsung to attend the meeting. However, during the meeting, the United States exposed its true intention: requires Samsung, TSMC and other companies to provide important data such as inventory, orders, customer information, etc., to use this to achieve the "supply chain transparency" they do.
At this time, TSMC and Samsung were in a dilemma. After all, if the data was revealed to the United States, it would be like sheep entering the wolf pack , and in the end it would only end up with being swallowed up . But if the data was refused to hand over, then in the face of the tough measures of the United States, can TSMC and Samsung block ? This answer is obvious.
But then again, Haven’t TSMC and Samsung always had good cooperative relationships with the United States ? Both have even built factories in the United States. Why did the United States suddenly do such a broken-out thing at this critical moment?
In fact, all of this is closely related to the "chip shortage crisis" that has occurred in recent years.
[American company that makes cars without core]
Not long ago, due to the chip shortage problem, the two major automobile giants of , Ford Motor and , General Motors , announced the suspension of production of . Among them, , Ford Motors , announced the reduction of production of some models of . The factories in various places have different levels of suspension and suspension of production of , and General Motors announced that will officially stop production of 6 factories in North America.
It is no exaggeration to say that once supported half of the US automobile industry and has now entered an unprecedented low stage . The reason why this situation occurs is that is because of its lack of core .
After the United States seized the right to speak in the semiconductor industry from Japan, has always dominated the world semiconductor industry structure . However, Intel has lost its chain at the critical moment of 10nm. Later, Asian companies such as TSMC and Samsung took advantage of the situation to catch up. After that, as time went by, the two major companies of surpassed Intel in one fell swoop, accounting for nearly 80% of the global chip manufacturing market.
Originally, the United States didn't care about this. Because TSMC and Samsung both use American technology , and the United States also has tough enough skills, it is not difficult for the United States to impose corresponding restrictions on the two major companies. Therefore, the United States is not very concerned about the rise of the two major chip foundry giants. However, with the rise of China's semiconductor industry, the United States, which has always regarded us as an imaginary enemy, finally couldn't sit still, so the current scene of the United States asking for data from TSMC and Samsung.
In this case, if TSMC and Samsung do not want to offend the United States, and do not want their assets to be exposed, what should we do? ? Let’s take a look at the “answer” given by TSMC Chairman Liu Deyin .
[TSMC's "transfer"]
A few days ago, TSMC Chairman Liu Deyin said in an interview with " Time Magazine " that "in a certain link in the supply chain, someone is hoarding chips."
Liu Deyin's words all revealed a message. The main reason why the chip shortage problem in is getting worse and worse is that some people are hoarding chips . So as for who is hoarding, people who want to know have to spend some time checking.
At this time, we combine Liu Deyin's words with the "will not disclose customer information" that TSMC said before. It is not difficult to see that TSMC wants to divert the US's attention from , and wants to let the US find out the problem first to solve the chip shortage of domestic car companies, so that TSMC can get a chance to breathe.
In fact, after all, the main reason for the global chip shortage is the United States. Its suppression of Huawei and cut off the supply of chips to Huawei , has caused major technology companies around the world to feel a sense of crisis. When the trust crisis spreads around the world, , stocking up chips in case of being sanctioned has become a normal . Today, the United States has a headache due to chip shortage, which can only be said to be self-inflicted. However, TSMC is currently trying to get rid of the pressure given by the United States, which is obviously not realistic.
