Local printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturers are worried that power cuts in China will reduce factory utilization and throttle revenue growth as the industry enters its peak season, the Taiwan Printed Circuit Association (台灣電路板協會) said yesterday.
The warning came as association members expect to be affected by power rationing in China, which has ordered factories to halt operations for seven to 10 days.
Apple Inc supplier Unimicron Technology Corp (欣興電子) on Monday said that its factories in Suzhou and Kunshan in Jiangsu Province were told to stop production from midday on Sunday through tomorrow.
Photo: Reuters
The two cities are manufacturing hubs for Taiwanese PCB makers and face the most stringent electricity curbs.
“It is challenging for PCB suppliers to allocate manufacturing activities, as the industry is entering the peak season, with demand surging ahead of the Christmas shopping season in the US and Europe, and Lunar New Year gift buying China,” the association said.
Some association members plan to ask employees to start a long vacation before China’s National Day holiday on Friday, it said.
Others have proposed cutting utilization to cope with the energy crunch, it said.
Some PCB firms are also in talks with customers to reschedule shipments or to deliver from manufacturing sites outside of China, the association said.
Its members are also concerned about a potential shortage of raw materials and chemicals if upstream suppliers are affected by the power cuts, it said.
That could lead to a decline in factory utilization, it added.
PCB manufacturers are closely watching whether the power crunch would extend into next month and whether the Chinese government would further tighten energy use, it said.
Longer blackouts and stricter rules would threaten PCB companies’ factory utilization and revenue growth, it said.
China is a major production site for Taiwanese multilayer PCB manufacturers, accounting for 37.3 percent of their combined production, association data showed.
Flexible PCBs are next at 26.7 percent, followed by high-density interconnected boards at 19.1 percent, the data showed.
In Taipei trading yesterday, PCB stocks continued to be affected, with Unimicron Technology closing down 0.72 percent at NT$137, Tripod Technology Corp (健鼎科技) falling 1.71 percent to NT$115 and Compeq Manufacturing Co (華通電腦) dropping 1.57 percent to NT$37.6.
That compared with a 1.28 percent decline in the electronic components subindex and the TAIEX’s 0.76 percent loss.
The domestic unit of the Chinese-owned, Dutch-headquartered chipmaker Nexperia BV will soon be able to produce semiconductors locally within China, according to two company sources. Nexperia is at the center of a global tug-of-war over critical semiconductor technology, with a Dutch court in February ordering a probe into alleged mismanagement at the company. The geopolitical tussle has disrupted supply chains, with some carmakers reportedly forced to cut production due to chip shortages. Local production would allow Nexperia’s domestic arm, Nexperia Semiconductors (China) Ltd (安世半導體中國), to bypass restrictions in place since October on the supply of silicon wafers — etched with tiny components to
Singapore-based ride-hailing and delivery giant Grab Holdings Ltd has applied for regulatory approval to acquire the Taiwan operations of Germany-based Delivery Hero SE's Foodpanda in a deal valued at about US$600 million. Grab submitted the filing to the Fair Trade Commission on Friday last week, with the transaction subject to regulatory review and approval, the company said in a statement yesterday. Its independent governance structure would help foster a healthy and competitive market in Taiwan if the deal is approved, Grab said. Grab, which is listed on the NASDAQ, said in the filing that US-based Uber Technologies Inc holds about 13 percent of
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday received government approval to deploy its advanced 3-nanometer (3nm) process at its second fab currently under construction in Japan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a news release. The ministry green-lit the plan for the facility in Kumamoto, which is scheduled to start installing equipment and come online in 2028 with a monthly production capacity of 15,000 12-inch wafers, the ministry said. The Department of Investment Review in June 2024 authorized a US$5.26 billion investment for the facility, slated to manufacture 6- to 12nm chips, significantly less advanced than 3nm process. At a meeting with
Taiwan is open to joining a global liquefied natural gas (LNG) program if one is created, but on the condition that countries provide delivery even in a scenario where there is a conflict with China, an energy department official said yesterday. While Taiwan’s priority is to have enough LNG at home, the nation is open to exploring potential strategic reserves in other countries such as Japan or South Korea, Energy Administration Deputy Director-General Chen Chung-hsien (陳崇憲) said. While the LNG market does not have a global reserve for emergencies like that of oil, the concept has been raised a few times —
RSS