US says room for improvement in Taiwan semiconductor supplies
- Washington representative Sandra Oudkirk thanks the industry for its efforts to resolve global chip shortage, urges further progress
- Companies in Taiwan ramp up capacity but expect tight supplies to continue, possibly into next year
Sandra Oudkirk, director of the American institute in Taiwan, told an industry forum on Friday the Covid-19 pandemic had increased demand and “stressed” the world’s trading system.
“While Taiwan’s semiconductor companies continue to churn out chips at an increasingly fast pace, logistical challenges have stymied efforts to keep up,” Oudkirk said, according to a transcript provided by her office. “We have made improvements, but room exists for further progress.”
Tightness in semiconductor supplies over the past two years have in some cases caused car and consumer appliance production lines to shut down, and the US has repeatedly urged Taiwan, a major chip producer, to do more.
Oudkirk pointed to commerce department data showing the median chip inventory in the US had fallen over the past two years from 40 days to fewer than five.
Companies in Taiwan, home to the world’s largest contract chip maker TSMC, have said they expect tight supplies to continue this year and probably into 2023 even as they ramp up capacity expansion.