A lockdown to contain a surging COVID-19 outbreak in Shanghai, where many Taiwanese companies have operations, could affect their shipments, Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua (王美花) said yesterday.
Speaking with reporters on the sidelines of a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee, Wang said the Industrial Development Bureau had contacted Taiwanese firms in Shanghai to better understand the fallout from the lockdown.
Wang said that the companies’ operations had not been disrupted, but there are concerns that shipments could be affected.
Photo: Liao Cheng-hui, Taipei Times
Shanghai authorities on Sunday introduced a phased lockdown, with citywide testing to commence as the city reported a new high of about 3,500 infections on that day.
In the first phase, areas east of the Huangpu River began a lockdown and mass testing from yesterday until Friday. In the second phase, areas west of the river are to be under lockdown and undergo testing from Friday until Tuesday next week.
During the lockdowns, public transportation is suspended, with unapproved vehicles not being allowed on the roads, and non-essential businesses being closed. People are required to stay at home.
Materials Analysis Technology Inc (閎康科技), which runs a laboratory for a wide range of testing — such as material analysis, reliability analysis and failure analysis — said that deliveries from its Shanghai subsidiary would be postponed until the end of the phased lockdown.
To compensate for delays, the company is reallocating its global production while keeping in close contact with clients and suppliers regarding the lockdown.
The company has put essential measures in place to ensure its employees’ health and safety in Shanghai, it said.
Silicon wafer supplier Wafer Works Corp (合晶科技) said that it expects shipments to be affected by the lockdowns, although production remains normal at its Shanghai site.
Contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) said the lockdowns are unlikely to affect production at its fab in Shanghai, adding that the company plans to follow the city’s COVID-19 prevention guidelines.
TSMC runs an eight-inch wafer fab in Shanghai’s Songjiang District.
IC packaging and testing services provider ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光投控) said the restrictions on movement are expected to raise the logistics costs of subsidiary Universal Scientific Industrial (Shanghai) Co (USI, 環旭電子).
USI plans to spend more to take care of its employees in the city while abiding by rules imposed by Shanghai health authorities, ASE said, adding that it expects the measures to have limited effects on its sales.
USI operates several plants in the Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park in Pudong to provide tailored systematic production solutions for smart wearable device suppliers.
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