<story><title>TSMC Nanke 14 Factory Production Interruption Could Affect NVIDIA and Others</title><url>https://www.hardocp.com/news/2019/01/28/tsmc_nanke_14_factory_production_interruption_could_affect_nvidia_others</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>maxander</author><text>Every once in awhile, one hears about some accident like this one at a single, physical factory, followed by a laundry list of tech companies that are adversely effected.  It powerfully demonstrates how awfully centralized microchip production is; individual plants can account for substantial fractions (or even majorities) of entire product categories, which means that individual incidents can have outsized effects.  I don&amp;#x27;t know if that sort of risk has been fully internalized by the tech sector.&lt;p&gt;For that matter, how specialized is the market for whichever high-purity chemicals were behind this incident?  What portion of the semiconductor industry was purchasing from the same supplier?  We may not have heard the last of this.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>pacificmint</author><text>It&amp;#x27;s not just the tech industry that is concentrated like that. I think more and more industries have these insane levels of concentration.&lt;p&gt;In 2016, an explosion at a single industrial gas facility caused a whipped cream shortage in the US. [1] I mean in the scheme of world problems, that&amp;#x27;s one we&amp;#x27;ll survive, but it does illustrate how vulnerable a lot of our supply chains are.&lt;p&gt;In 2007, the shutdown of the Canadian Chalk River reactor caused worldwide shortages of isotopes used for medical imaging, with real life consequences for patients. [2]&lt;p&gt;There are probably countless other examples. In the end, its the direct consequence of the constant quest to lower production costs and increase efficiencies.&lt;p&gt;[1] &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.theatlantic.com&amp;#x2F;science&amp;#x2F;archive&amp;#x2F;2016&amp;#x2F;12&amp;#x2F;the-deadly-explosion-behind-americas-whipped-cream-shortage&amp;#x2F;511118&amp;#x2F;&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.theatlantic.com&amp;#x2F;science&amp;#x2F;archive&amp;#x2F;2016&amp;#x2F;12&amp;#x2F;the-dead...&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p&gt;[2] &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.nytimes.com&amp;#x2F;2007&amp;#x2F;12&amp;#x2F;06&amp;#x2F;business&amp;#x2F;worldbusiness&amp;#x2F;06reactor.html&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.nytimes.com&amp;#x2F;2007&amp;#x2F;12&amp;#x2F;06&amp;#x2F;business&amp;#x2F;worldbusiness&amp;#x2F;06...&lt;/a&gt;</text></comment>
<story><title>TSMC Nanke 14 Factory Production Interruption Could Affect NVIDIA and Others</title><url>https://www.hardocp.com/news/2019/01/28/tsmc_nanke_14_factory_production_interruption_could_affect_nvidia_others</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>maxander</author><text>Every once in awhile, one hears about some accident like this one at a single, physical factory, followed by a laundry list of tech companies that are adversely effected.  It powerfully demonstrates how awfully centralized microchip production is; individual plants can account for substantial fractions (or even majorities) of entire product categories, which means that individual incidents can have outsized effects.  I don&amp;#x27;t know if that sort of risk has been fully internalized by the tech sector.&lt;p&gt;For that matter, how specialized is the market for whichever high-purity chemicals were behind this incident?  What portion of the semiconductor industry was purchasing from the same supplier?  We may not have heard the last of this.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>nomel</author><text>&amp;gt; I don&amp;#x27;t know if that sort of risk has been fully internalized by the tech sector.&lt;p&gt;It’s known and understood completely within any silicon company. If you can afford it, and it’s technically possible (no special deals or tech), you’ll require at least some functionality at a second fab. What you cannot do is immediately get a second fab up and running. There’s a surprising amount of process tuning, sometimes accommodating new device models, and design rule differences (they will not guarantee or sometimes even start if they’re not meet). It’s in no way turn-key if you’re anywhere near the limits of what the fab can do.</text></comment>