The increasing restriction put by the administration on water supply because of a drought in the island is forcing the chip makers of Taiwan to purchase water by the truckload for use in some of their foundries.
This shortage of water for chip manufacturing has raised concerns that the current shortage of chip for the global auto industry could get worse.
Production cuts have already been forced on come auto makers because of the chip shortages amid Taiwan receiving requests from multiple countries to address the serious issue of the shortage of auto chips with countries like the United States and Germany being the ones that are most affected as they are major manufacturers of cars and other vehicles.
Taiwan has a critical role to play in the global supply chain for the technology sector and for tech giants such as Apple Inc. the authorities there are set to further increase restrictions on the use of water starting Thursday for factories in central and southern cities where the biggest and the most important science parks are located.
After months of lower than average rainfall and a rare typhoon-free summer, the levels of water in a number of the major reservoirs in the central and southern region of the island are now lower than 20 per cent of the capacity.
"We have planned for the worst," Taiwan Economy Minister Wang Mei-hua told reporters on Tuesday. "We hope companies can reduce water usage by 7% to 11%."
The island has entered the "toughest moment", said the Taiwan Water Corporation earlier this week as there are forecasts for limited rainfall for several months ahead.
Small amounts of water gave been started to be ordered by the truckload for supplying to some of the facilities across the island for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC), the largest contract chipmaker of the world.
"We are making preparations for our future water demand," TSMC told the media. The move was described by the company as a "pressure test".
The current water shortage has not yet hampered its production, the chip giant said. While signing small amounts of water by the truckload to supply some of its facilities across the island, Vanguard International Semiconductor Corporation and United Microelectronics Corp both reiterated that their production has not been affected by the current situation.
A drill to truck water to its facilities in the northern city of Hsinchu has been started by it, Vanguard said.
Chronic water shortages have been a major impediment for years for the tech companies of Taiwan which has been made more acute with other companies of the island expanding their production after the trade war between the United States and China.
(Source:www.usnews.com)
This shortage of water for chip manufacturing has raised concerns that the current shortage of chip for the global auto industry could get worse.
Production cuts have already been forced on come auto makers because of the chip shortages amid Taiwan receiving requests from multiple countries to address the serious issue of the shortage of auto chips with countries like the United States and Germany being the ones that are most affected as they are major manufacturers of cars and other vehicles.
Taiwan has a critical role to play in the global supply chain for the technology sector and for tech giants such as Apple Inc. the authorities there are set to further increase restrictions on the use of water starting Thursday for factories in central and southern cities where the biggest and the most important science parks are located.
After months of lower than average rainfall and a rare typhoon-free summer, the levels of water in a number of the major reservoirs in the central and southern region of the island are now lower than 20 per cent of the capacity.
"We have planned for the worst," Taiwan Economy Minister Wang Mei-hua told reporters on Tuesday. "We hope companies can reduce water usage by 7% to 11%."
The island has entered the "toughest moment", said the Taiwan Water Corporation earlier this week as there are forecasts for limited rainfall for several months ahead.
Small amounts of water gave been started to be ordered by the truckload for supplying to some of the facilities across the island for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC), the largest contract chipmaker of the world.
"We are making preparations for our future water demand," TSMC told the media. The move was described by the company as a "pressure test".
The current water shortage has not yet hampered its production, the chip giant said. While signing small amounts of water by the truckload to supply some of its facilities across the island, Vanguard International Semiconductor Corporation and United Microelectronics Corp both reiterated that their production has not been affected by the current situation.
A drill to truck water to its facilities in the northern city of Hsinchu has been started by it, Vanguard said.
Chronic water shortages have been a major impediment for years for the tech companies of Taiwan which has been made more acute with other companies of the island expanding their production after the trade war between the United States and China.
(Source:www.usnews.com)
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