Two days ago, we published an article about the consequences of a computer chip shortage in the auto industry, highlighting the troubles of the world’s leading chip manufacturer, Renesas. One of Renesas’s Japanese plants has considerably slowed production activities, and a shortage of these crucial elements is becoming increasingly likely.
We learned today that Freescale Semiconductor, the second biggest player in the industry, is suffering a similar fate. After the earthquake measuring 8.9 on the Richter scale, the company has been forced to permanently close its only Japanese plant and transfer production elsewhere.
Though this will more than likely have a negative impact, we need to put things into perspective. Freescale Semiconductor had decided to close the aging plant in December, increasing its inventory and progressively transferring the workload elsewhere before that fateful day. The destruction of the facilities simply accelerated the process.
To minimize the impact, the American firm has already hired a third party to support its Chandler, Arizona, plant, which now has to manufacture more chips than expected. Thankfully, the fact that Freescale Semiconductor had increased its inventory before the quake will help take a lot of pressure off.
Freescale Semiconductor supplies 19% of all automotive computer chips, with Renesas having cornered 41% of the market. Mathematically speaking, 60% of the industry is currently in a bad way.
Source : Automotive News
We learned today that Freescale Semiconductor, the second biggest player in the industry, is suffering a similar fate. After the earthquake measuring 8.9 on the Richter scale, the company has been forced to permanently close its only Japanese plant and transfer production elsewhere.
Though this will more than likely have a negative impact, we need to put things into perspective. Freescale Semiconductor had decided to close the aging plant in December, increasing its inventory and progressively transferring the workload elsewhere before that fateful day. The destruction of the facilities simply accelerated the process.
To minimize the impact, the American firm has already hired a third party to support its Chandler, Arizona, plant, which now has to manufacture more chips than expected. Thankfully, the fact that Freescale Semiconductor had increased its inventory before the quake will help take a lot of pressure off.
Freescale Semiconductor supplies 19% of all automotive computer chips, with Renesas having cornered 41% of the market. Mathematically speaking, 60% of the industry is currently in a bad way.
Source : Automotive News