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Magnitude 7.4 Earthquake in Taiwan Halts Production at TSMC and Other Foundries

TheLostSwede

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At 07:58 local time, Taiwan was rocked by a magnitude 7.4 earthquake on the east coast which was felt nationwide and as far as to the southeastern parts of China and southern Japan. It caused some major damage in the east coast city of Hualien where the epicentre of the quake was located, as well as surrounding areas. The earthquake reportedly left nine people dead and over 900 people injured islandwide. TSMC, UMC, PSMC and Innolux all halted some of their production lines in the Hsinchu Science Park on the west coast of the island, although this is said to have been as a preventive step, rather than caused by actual damage from the earthquake.

All the above-mentioned companies also evacuated their staff from their factories due to the intensity of the quake, as it reached a magnitude of around four or five almost island wide. The semiconductor manufacturers are all inspecting their fabs now to make sure none of the equipment was damaged by the earthquake. Innolux also has a factory in the southern city of Kaohsiung and has reported that it has suspended production in Hsinchu, but that production in Kaohsiung wasn't affected. Local media in Taiwan hasn't made any mention of the likes of Micron or other chip manufacturers, but it's likely that the situation is similar, since all of these companies are located in the same areas on the island. Aftershocks have continued throughout the day and there's a risk for further big earthquakes to follow in the coming days.


Images courtesy of the Taiwan Central Weather Administration (CWA).

Update 15:11 UTC: Updated with an official statement from Micron below.

Micron Technology, Inc. today reported that following the earthquake that struck Taiwan on April 3, 2024, all of Micron's team members have been accounted for and reported to be safe. Our thoughts are with those affected and their families. We are evaluating impact to our operations and supply chain. We will communicate changes to delivery commitments to our customers after this evaluation is completed.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site | Source
 

TheLostSwede

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I was woken up by the earthquake this morning, it shook really hard.
The foundaries are probably fine though, modern buildings are built to withstand these kinds of earthquakes, we only need to worry about old buildings. So far there are 4 buildings that have collapse.
 
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I was woken up by the earthquake this morning, it shook really hard.
The foundaries are probably fine though, modern buildings are built to withstand these kinds of earthquakes, we only need to worry about old buildings. So far there are 4 buildings that have collapse.
My thoughts are with those who lost someone in the quake. Hope the people still trapped get out OK.
 
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The pieces in production during earthquake could be impacted, imagine they put those in hardwares, a lot of RMA !
 
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I was woken up by the earthquake this morning, it shook really hard.
The foundaries are probably fine though, modern buildings are built to withstand these kinds of earthquakes, we only need to worry about old buildings. So far there are 4 buildings that have collapse.
It can be hard to tell. Earthquake is not unknown in Taiwan, so I assume when they are building, they should have factored this in. Having said that, it can be hard to determine if there are structural damage due to the tremors. So not collapsing may not be a sign it is safe. Likewise, foundries may be ok, but its ability to operate also depends on whether the equipment are fine and no disruption from an infrastructure standpoint.

In any case, I hope there won't be that many casualties. The collapsed buildings are a concern because not sure how many people are in them.
 
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It can be hard to tell. Earthquake is not unknown in Taiwan, so I assume when they are building, they should have factored this in. Having said that, it can be hard to determine if there are structural damage due to the tremors. So not collapsing may not be a sign it is safe. Likewise, foundries may be ok, but its ability to operate also depends on whether the equipment are fine and no disruption from an infrastructure standpoint.

In any case, I hope there won't be that many casualties. The collapsed buildings are a concern because not sure how many people are in them.
Making chips uses a LOT of water. One of the big issues in the aftermath of a quake is severed utilities.
 
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So; an RTX5090 for a mere $1 000 000?
 
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So; an RTX5090 for a mere $1 000 000?

God I hope not. Hoping to be able to get one of these at some point late this year or next year.
 
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Hi,
lucky no Tsunami or was there some where else :fear:
 
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The pieces in production during earthquake could be impacted, imagine they put those in hardwares, a lot of RMA !
Most likely considered permanently damaged and scrapped.
 
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So; an RTX5090 for a mere $1 000 000?
It simply won't even exist...
If TSMC's production were significantly constrained for any reason, Nvidia would undoubtedly prioritize the allocation of all available capacity to GPUs targeted specifically at the AI/Datacenter market.
 

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Tragedy aside, it's puzzling we concentrated so much critical tech on a tiny island in the Pacific Rim.
And here's hoping the casualties stay as they are.
 
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just imagine the carnage if the TSMC plant was significantly damaged
 

TheLostSwede

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just imagine the carnage if the TSMC plant was significantly damaged
It's a good thing they don't have just the one then...
 
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Tragedy aside, it's puzzling we concentrated so much critical tech on a tiny island in the Pacific Rim.
And here's hoping the casualties stay as they are.
For Taiwan Semiconducter manufacturing is a strategic defence. Do watch video by Real Life Lore(on youtube) posted about this semiconductor shield ~5months back.
 
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It's a good thing they don't have just the one then...
Nonetheless... TSMC Fab 18 is the main 5nm production facility. This is what matters to the big players.
 

TheLostSwede

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Nonetheless... TSMC Fab 18 is the main 5nm production facility. This is what matters to the big players.
Good thing it's in Tainan and not Hsinchu then...
 
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Good thing it's in Tainan and not Hsinchu then...
It's still in Taiwan. I thought we were discussing the potential repercussions of an event that could significantly restrict the operations of the country's fabs. Anyway, it would be massive.
 
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Well, at least THIS time, they have a legitimate reason for production interruptions, unlike the usually suspect "factory fire/flood/power failure" which has been used by other companies in the past to jack up prices and trigger the supply/demand greed-mongering :)

But OTOH, hopefully everyone who may have been injured or requiring assistance got it quickly and will recover asap...
 
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