Tag Archives: semiconductors

Subscriber to Reich’s column so I steal a commentary now and then. Funds given to Semiconductor corporations are being used to buy back stocks rather than invest in new capabilities and facilities. In 2010, we took hits on pricing by as much as a 20% increase in pricing. A take it or leave it proposal. Sure there was increased demand which has nothing to do with cost. Indeed, the price increase did similar to what Robert discusses below....

This is an excellent review of what has helped the economy stay stable during the pandemic and some of the issues mostly centered around demand and supply chain. Spend a few minutes here and read NDd’s reasoning. A further examination of the state of the economic tailwind  – by New Deal democrat With no big economic news today, I thought I would pick up where I left off Friday, when I identified three major reasons for the economic tailwind...

Two completely different cultures trying to understand one another. I have worked for Japanese, Korean, and German management. How the Japanese and Koreans addressed me was far different than how they address the workers of their descent. The Germans were far more open than the other two cultures. Overhead Costs; TSMC may not be burdened by the same overhead costs which are included in US Labor’s pay. This is one reason they may wish to bring...

If you really what it to end bring Taiwanese workers to the US, demand TMSC give them US benefits. However, there is no reason to bring that many Taiwanese workers to the US. The impact of which will be felt a year or two later when they are still in the US. From reading this, the plant to be built and is behind schedule will make 4 nanometer chips. The later US plant will build three nanometer chips. The Taiwanese are already in R&D on 2...

If you really what it to end bring Taiwanese workers to the US, demand TMSC give them US benefits. However, there is no reason to bring that many Taiwanese workers to the US. The impact of which will be felt a year or two later when they are still in the US. From reading this, the plant to be built and is behind schedule will make 4 nanometer chips. The later US plant will build three nanometer chips. The Taiwanese are already in R&D on 2...

A lot has been said about building semiconductor manufacturing plants in the US. One plant grows the silicon wafers and the other plant fabricates (fabs) the semiconductors. The manufacture of semiconductors is not labor intensive. Growing wafers is boring business as one engineer told me a decade back. The US did manufacture much of its need domestically at one time (see graph at the left). However, U.S. policymakers held tight to the belief...

There is a lot of noise about the shortage of semiconductors. I am not going to explain it all here. You will find the explanation of manufacture in the articles. It takes weeks to grow wafers and then Fab semi-conductors. Not maintaining orders for semiconductors creates shortage when production starts up again. The purchase of semiconductors has changed since I was in it in 2008 chasing automotive OEM caused shortages. Growing the wafers could...

WSJ reports Stocks rose broadly Thursday morning after the GDP report, but they retreated later in the day, with the Nasdaq falling 1.4%, the S&P 500 dropping 0.54%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average off 0.02%.Thursday’s report contained warning signs. Most of the growth owed to companies’ restocking rather than people and firms buying stuff. In part, the rise in inventory investment reflected a rebound from super-low inventory levels in...

“Could it be a better result? By this, I mean should there really have been an extreme shortage and long lead times?” A fellow writer was an engineer at OnSemi. As he stated once, his job was watching the crystals (future “wafer material) grow. More coming on this comment shortly. You will not be experts (I am not either) in the process. Hopefully, you will understand why the issues associated with manufacturing semiconductors are questionable. I...