TSMC says can catch up with auto chip demand by end June - CBS

[May 03, 2021]   TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC) expects to be able to catch up with the "minimum requirement" of customer demand for auto chips by the end of June, its chairman told U.S. broadcaster CBS.

Automakers around the world are shutting assembly lines due to the shortage of chips for the industry, which in some cases have been exacerbated by the former U.S. administration's actions against Chinese chip factories.

Taiwan, home to a booming semiconductor industry, is front and centre of efforts to resolve that problem, and its chipmakers have vowed to ramp up capacity.

Speaking to CBS' 60 Minutes in comments broadcast on Sunday, TSMC Chairman Mark Liu said they first heard about the shortages in December and the following month began trying to squeeze out as many chips as possible for automakers.

"Today, we think we are two months ahead, that we can catch up the minimum requirement of our customers, before the end of June," he said.

Asked he meant the auto chip shortage would end in two months, he said "no".

"There's a time lag. In car chips particularly, the supply chain is long and complex. The supply takes about seven to eight months," Liu added.

TSMC is the world's largest contract chipmaker.

While the chip shortage began first being felt by automakers, it has since spread to other sectors like consumer electronics.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Kim Coghill)

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