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[‘Chipageddon’: How Taiwan is battling the global chip shortage] => チッパゲドン:世界的なチップ不足と戦う台湾
[Semiconductors are the lifeblood of the modern world, but now there is a critical shortage worldwide and Taiwan is at the center of it.] => 半導体は現代の生命線ですが、今や世界的に深刻な不足となっており、台湾がその中心になっています。
[In May, Japanese automobile giant Nissan was forced to put the brakes on its vehicle production and cut its manufacturing output for 2021 by 500,000 units. The reason: a severe shortfall of a coin-sized computer chip needed to power its vehicles.
This chip shortage, which has crippled the global automobile industry for the past 18 months, has now spilled over to other sectors. But effort and flexibility among logistics partners are helping to mitigate the crisis and offer ideas for how processes might be improved in the future.
Chips, also known as semiconductors, power the modern world. Almost anything electronic, from phones, cars to even an alarm clock, relies on these nano-sized silicon wafers to function. Last year, Taiwan dominated the global market share for semiconductor contract manufacturing, accounting for more than 60 percent of global revenue.
“We’re the world’s chipmaking factory. Semiconductor manufacturing is one of the most important industries for Taiwan,” said DJ Shieh, Managing Director of DHL Supply Chain Taiwan.
But in the past year, a global pandemic and one of the worst droughts in half a century has severely disrupted production there. Taiwan is also caught in a global tech war between the United States and China. The triple threat has led to a semiconductor shortage crisis so severe that it has been dubbed “Chipaggedon”.
“The global chip shortage is affecting every industry. I think very few players expected the sharp fall in supply,” said Shieh.
“We’re doing our best to ensure the seamless flow of goods for our semiconductor customers to minimize the fallout, and hopefully resolve, this supply chain crisis.”
A perfect storm
The Covid-19 pandemic was the catalyst for this global shortage — the virus first forced semiconductor factories worldwide to shut down temporarily last year. Since then, it has continued to cause intermittent disruptions. For example, the fresh wave of Covid-19 cases that hit Taiwan in mid-2021 impacted its production capacity of many of its manufacturing firms.
“Some production makers were forced to shut down for two to three days to clean up, disinfect their factories, and conduct Covid-19 testing for its workers,” said Shieh.
In June, King Yuan Electronics, one of the world’s largest chip-testing companies, saw an outbreak of cases that forced a 48-hour suspension of operations. The disruption was estimated to have slashed the company’s production by at least a third for that month.
Although production in most factories has gradually resumed, it is still being hampered by the need for stringent mass testing and quarantine measures. Delays are expected to continue.
This year, Taiwan was also hit with one of its worst droughts in 56 years, an event Shieh described as one of the “biggest concerns” for chip manufacturers. The calamity posed a huge threat to the chip-making industry, which needs large amounts of water for its production process.
But the situation is likely to ease up. Although the government had to cut water supplies to some chip makers by 15 percent, top-tier manufacturers were less affected.
Mother Nature also provided a timely intervention. “The heavy rains and typhoon that came during the middle of this year also improved the situation,” added Shieh.
Politics, however, has also conspired to create further obstacles. The tech war raging between the U.S. and China has also contributed to an increasingly fragmented global chip supply. Sanctions imposed by the U.S. mean that chipmakers can no longer freely supply their products to any companies, as licenses and government approval are now required.
This has brought uncertainty to the global chip industry as it has led to companies placing double bookings — reservations made to ensure a safety net — which has further exacerbated the shortage.
Strengthening the supply chain
The impact has been immediate. Chip prices have risen with consumers feeling the pinch. Computers, tablets and even smart televisions have seen prices soar by as much as 30 percent.
Governments are quickly responding by ramping up chip capacity, led by South Korea, U.S. and the European Union. But the new factories will take years to come online.
“To cope with the shortage, companies are removing double bookings and channeling supplies to those who need the chips most. This way, they can filter out some of the customers who just want to do safety bookings,” said Shieh.
Logistics also has a key part to play in ensuring that the chips get to their destination quickly and seamlessly. This will help alleviate any potential delays or chokepoints.
For instance, dealing with the shortage has required flexibility in helping customers cope with the surging demand. “Besides ensuring our quality of service, we also have to be quick to adapt and accommodate to ad-hoc requests, such as providing additional storage space for incoming tools and parts for our customers,” said Shieh.
It is also extending additional services to ensure that supplies are quickly shipped out. DHL deploys material handlers at their customers’ production plants in Taiwan to manage the sensitive tools and machines needed to manufacture these chips. This ensures smooth delivery and functioning of the machines, added Shieh.
The logistics provider also offers cleanrooms and clean benches for cleaning of tools and parts to ensure that the components remain in pristine conditions. Even the smallest speck of dust can destroy an entire chip.
Aware that manpower is a big challenge for the industry, Shieh believes automation and management software solutions will boost the efficiency and speed of current operations, ranging from transport to assembly.
“If we can do more development on our software and improve our transportation management system, it can definitely make us more competitive,” said Shieh, adding that manufacturers can also do more to predict future demand and make better production forecasts.
The global chip shortage is unlikely to be resolved any time soon but any help to ease bottlenecks, speed up delivery, and smoothen deliveries will go a long way to overcoming the difficult situation.] => 5月日本の自動車大手、日産は、自動車生産にブレーキをかけ、2021年の生産生産を50万台削減することを余儀なくされました。その理由は、車両に電力を供給するために必要な、コインサイズのコンピューターチップの深刻な不足でした。
過去18か月間、世界の自動車産業を不自由にしてきたこのチップ不足は、今や他のセクターにも波及しています。しかし、ロジスティクスパートナー間の努力と柔軟性は、危機を緩和し、生産プロセスが将来どのように改善されるかについてのアイデアを提供するのに役立っています。
半導体としても知られるチップは、現代の力となっています。電話、車、目覚まし時計など、ほとんどすべての電子機器の機能は、これらのナノサイズのシリコンウェーハに依存しています。昨年、台湾は半導体受託製造の世界市場シェアを支配し、世界の収益の60%以上を占めました。
「台湾は世界のチップ製造工場です。半導体製造は台湾にとって最も重要な産業のひとつです」と、DHLサプライチェーン台湾のマネージングディレクターであるDJ Shiehは述べています。
しかし、過去1年間に、世界的なパンデミックと半世紀で最悪の干ばつが、台湾の生産をひどく混乱させました。台湾はまた、米国と中国の間の世界的な技術戦争に巻き込まれています。この3重の脅威は、「チッパゲドン」と呼ばれるほど深刻な半導体不足の危機をもたらしました。
「世界的なチップ不足はすべての業界に影響を及ぼしています。供給の急激な減少を予期していたプレイヤーはほとんどいないと思います」とShieh氏は述べています。
「私たちは、半導体の顧客がこのサプライチェーンの危機を最小限に抑え、うまくいけば解決できるように、商品のシームレスな流れを確保するために最善を尽くしています。」
影響はすぐに現れました。ピンチを感じた消費者によりチップ価格が上昇、コンピューター、タブレット、さらにはスマートテレビでさえ、価格が30%も高騰したのです。
政府は、韓国、米国、欧州連合が主導するチップ容量を増やすことで迅速に対応しています。しかし、新しい工場が稼働するなるまでには何年もかかるでしょう。
「不足に対処するために、企業はダブルブッキングを取り消し、チップを最も必要とする人々に物資を送ります。このようにして、安全予約をしたいだけの顧客の一部を除外することができます」とShieh氏は述べています。
[caption id="attachment_15269" align="alignnone" width="2560"] 世界的なチップ不足はすべての業界に影響を及ぼしています。(写真:Shutterstock)[/caption]
ロジスティクスは、チップが目的地に迅速かつシームレスに到達するための重要な役割を果たします。これは潜在的な遅延やチョークポイントを軽減するのに役立ちます。
たとえば、不足に対処するには、顧客が急増する需要に対応できるようにするための柔軟性が必要です。 「サービス品質を確保するだけでなく、顧客に着信ツールや部品用の追加のストレージスペースを提供するなど、突発的な要求に迅速に適応して対応する必要があります」とShieh氏は述べています。
また、消耗品が迅速に発送されるように、追加のサービスを拡張していますDHLは、台湾の顧客の生産工場にマテリアルハンドラーを配備して、これらのチップの製造に必要な機密性の高いツールと機械を管理しています。これにより、機械のスムーズな配送と機能が保証されます、とShieh氏は付け加えました。
ロジスティクス企業は、コンポーネントを元の状態に保つために、ツールや部品を洗浄するためのクリーンルームとクリーンベンチも提供しています。ほんの小さなホコリでさえ、チップ全体を破壊する可能性があります。
マンパワーが業界にとって大きな課題であることを認識しているShiehは、自動化および管理ソフトウェアソリューションにより、輸送から組み立てに至るまで、現在の運用の効率と速度が向上すると考えています。
「ソフトウェアの開発をさらに進め、輸送管理システムを改善できれば、間違いなく競争力を高めることができます」とShieh氏は述べ、メーカーは将来の需要を予測し、より良い生産予測を行うためにさらに多くのことを行うことができると付け加えました。
世界的なチップ不足がすぐに解決される可能性は低いですが、ボトルネックを緩和し、配送を高速化し、輸送をスムーズにするための支援は、困難な状況を克服するのに大いに役立ちます。
[wysiwyg] => wysiwyg
[In May, Japanese automobile giant Nissan was forced to put the brakes on its vehicle production and cut its manufacturing output for 2021 by 500,000 units. The reason: a severe shortfall of a coin-sized computer chip needed to power its vehicles.
This chip shortage, which has crippled the global automobile industry for the past 18 months, has now spilled over to other sectors. But effort and flexibility among logistics partners are helping to mitigate the crisis and offer ideas for how processes might be improved in the future.
Chips, also known as semiconductors, power the modern world. Almost anything electronic, from phones, cars to even an alarm clock, relies on these nano-sized silicon wafers to function. Last year, Taiwan dominated the global market share for semiconductor contract manufacturing, accounting for more than 60 percent of global revenue.
“We’re the world’s chipmaking factory. Semiconductor manufacturing is one of the most important industries for Taiwan,” said DJ Shieh, Managing Director of DHL Supply Chain Taiwan.
But in the past year, a global pandemic and one of the worst droughts in half a century has severely disrupted production there. Taiwan is also caught in a global tech war between the United States and China. The triple threat has led to a semiconductor shortage crisis so severe that it has been dubbed “Chipaggedon”.
“The global chip shortage is affecting every industry. I think very few players expected the sharp fall in supply,” said Shieh.
“We’re doing our best to ensure the seamless flow of goods for our semiconductor customers to minimize the fallout, and hopefully resolve, this supply chain crisis.”
A perfect storm
The Covid-19 pandemic was the catalyst for this global shortage — the virus first forced semiconductor factories worldwide to shut down temporarily last year. Since then, it has continued to cause intermittent disruptions. For example, the fresh wave of Covid-19 cases that hit Taiwan in mid-2021 impacted its production capacity of many of its manufacturing firms.
“Some production makers were forced to shut down for two to three days to clean up, disinfect their factories, and conduct Covid-19 testing for its workers,” said Shieh.
Earlier this year, Taiwan was hit with one of its worst droughts in 56 years. (Photo: Shutterstock)
In June, King Yuan Electronics, one of the world’s largest chip-testing companies, saw an outbreak of cases that forced a 48-hour suspension of operations. The disruption was estimated to have slashed the company’s production by at least a third for that month.
Although production in most factories has gradually resumed, it is still being hampered by the need for stringent mass testing and quarantine measures. Delays are expected to continue.
This year, Taiwan was also hit with one of its worst droughts in 56 years, an event Shieh described as one of the “biggest concerns” for chip manufacturers. The calamity posed a huge threat to the chip-making industry, which needs large amounts of water for its production process.
But the situation is likely to ease up. Although the government had to cut water supplies to some chip makers by 15 percent, top-tier manufacturers were less affected.
Mother Nature also provided a timely intervention. “The heavy rains and typhoon that came during the middle of this year also improved the situation,” added Shieh.
Politics, however, has also conspired to create further obstacles. The tech war raging between the U.S. and China has also contributed to an increasingly fragmented global chip supply. Sanctions imposed by the U.S. mean that chipmakers can no longer freely supply their products to any companies, as licenses and government approval are now required.
This has brought uncertainty to the global chip industry as it has led to companies placing double bookings — reservations made to ensure a safety net — which has further exacerbated the shortage.
Strengthening the supply chain
The impact has been immediate. Chip prices have risen with consumers feeling the pinch. Computers, tablets and even smart televisions have seen prices soar by as much as 30 percent.
Governments are quickly responding by ramping up chip capacity, led by South Korea, U.S. and the European Union. But the new factories will take years to come online.
“To cope with the shortage, companies are removing double bookings and channeling supplies to those who need the chips most. This way, they can filter out some of the customers who just want to do safety bookings,” said Shieh.
The global chip shortage is affecting every industry. (Photo: Shutterstock)
Logistics also has a key part to play in ensuring that the chips get to their destination quickly and seamlessly. This will help alleviate any potential delays or chokepoints.
For instance, dealing with the shortage has required flexibility in helping customers cope with the surging demand. “Besides ensuring our quality of service, we also have to be quick to adapt and accommodate to ad-hoc requests, such as providing additional storage space for incoming tools and parts for our customers,” said Shieh.
It is also extending additional services to ensure that supplies are quickly shipped out. DHL deploys material handlers at their customers’ production plants in Taiwan to manage the sensitive tools and machines needed to manufacture these chips. This ensures smooth delivery and functioning of the machines, added Shieh.
The logistics provider also offers cleanrooms and clean benches for cleaning of tools and parts to ensure that the components remain in pristine conditions. Even the smallest speck of dust can destroy an entire chip.
Aware that manpower is a big challenge for the industry, Shieh believes automation and management software solutions will boost the efficiency and speed of current operations, ranging from transport to assembly.
“If we can do more development on our software and improve our transportation management system, it can definitely make us more competitive,” said Shieh, adding that manufacturers can also do more to predict future demand and make better production forecasts.
The global chip shortage is unlikely to be resolved any time soon but any help to ease bottlenecks, speed up delivery, and smoothen deliveries will go a long way to overcoming the difficult situation.] =>
[] =>
[chipageddon-how-taiwan-is-battling-the-global-chip-shortage] => chipageddon-how-taiwan-is-battling-the-global-chip-shortage
[Taiwan] =>
[Europe] =>
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[Lake,Of,Dreams,,A,Small,But,Beautiful,Fishing,Port,Located] => Lake,Of,Dreams,,A,Small,But,Beautiful,Fishing,Port,Located
[Taiwan was hit with one of its worst droughts in 56 years.] => Taiwan was hit with one of its worst droughts in 56 years.
[shutterstock_516935290] => shutterstock_516935290
[The global chip shortage is affecting every industry.] => The global chip shortage is affecting every industry.
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[$value] => In May, Japanese automobile giant Nissan was forced to put the brakes on its vehicle production and cut its manufacturing output for 2021 by 500,000 units. The reason: a severe shortfall of a coin-sized computer chip needed to power its vehicles.
This chip shortage, which has crippled the global automobile industry for the past 18 months, has now spilled over to other sectors. But effort and flexibility among logistics partners are helping to mitigate the crisis and offer ideas for how processes might be improved in the future.
Chips, also known as semiconductors, power the modern world. Almost anything electronic, from phones, cars to even an alarm clock, relies on these nano-sized silicon wafers to function. Last year, Taiwan dominated the global market share for semiconductor contract manufacturing, accounting for more than 60 percent of global revenue.
“We’re the world’s chipmaking factory. Semiconductor manufacturing is one of the most important industries for Taiwan,” said DJ Shieh, Managing Director of DHL Supply Chain Taiwan.
But in the past year, a global pandemic and one of the worst droughts in half a century has severely disrupted production there. Taiwan is also caught in a global tech war between the United States and China. The triple threat has led to a semiconductor shortage crisis so severe that it has been dubbed “Chipaggedon”.
“The global chip shortage is affecting every industry. I think very few players expected the sharp fall in supply,” said Shieh.
“We’re doing our best to ensure the seamless flow of goods for our semiconductor customers to minimize the fallout, and hopefully resolve, this supply chain crisis.”
A perfect storm
The Covid-19 pandemic was the catalyst for this global shortage — the virus first forced semiconductor factories worldwide to shut down temporarily last year. Since then, it has continued to cause intermittent disruptions. For example, the fresh wave of Covid-19 cases that hit Taiwan in mid-2021 impacted its production capacity of many of its manufacturing firms.
“Some production makers were forced to shut down for two to three days to clean up, disinfect their factories, and conduct Covid-19 testing for its workers,” said Shieh.
[caption id="attachment_15268" align="alignnone" width="2560"] Earlier this year, Taiwan was hit with one of its worst droughts in 56 years. (Photo: Shutterstock)[/caption]
In June, King Yuan Electronics, one of the world’s largest chip-testing companies, saw an outbreak of cases that forced a 48-hour suspension of operations. The disruption was estimated to have slashed the company’s production by at least a third for that month.
Although production in most factories has gradually resumed, it is still being hampered by the need for stringent mass testing and quarantine measures. Delays are expected to continue.
This year, Taiwan was also hit with one of its worst droughts in 56 years, an event Shieh described as one of the “biggest concerns” for chip manufacturers. The calamity posed a huge threat to the chip-making industry, which needs large amounts of water for its production process.
But the situation is likely to ease up. Although the government had to cut water supplies to some chip makers by 15 percent, top-tier manufacturers were less affected.
Mother Nature also provided a timely intervention. “The heavy rains and typhoon that came during the middle of this year also improved the situation,” added Shieh.
Politics, however, has also conspired to create further obstacles. The tech war raging between the U.S. and China has also contributed to an increasingly fragmented global chip supply. Sanctions imposed by the U.S. mean that chipmakers can no longer freely supply their products to any companies, as licenses and government approval are now required.
This has brought uncertainty to the global chip industry as it has led to companies placing double bookings — reservations made to ensure a safety net — which has further exacerbated the shortage.
Strengthening the supply chain
The impact has been immediate. Chip prices have risen with consumers feeling the pinch. Computers, tablets and even smart televisions have seen prices soar by as much as 30 percent.
Governments are quickly responding by ramping up chip capacity, led by South Korea, U.S. and the European Union. But the new factories will take years to come online.
“To cope with the shortage, companies are removing double bookings and channeling supplies to those who need the chips most. This way, they can filter out some of the customers who just want to do safety bookings,” said Shieh.
[caption id="attachment_15269" align="alignnone" width="2560"] The global chip shortage is affecting every industry. (Photo: Shutterstock)[/caption]
Logistics also has a key part to play in ensuring that the chips get to their destination quickly and seamlessly. This will help alleviate any potential delays or chokepoints.
For instance, dealing with the shortage has required flexibility in helping customers cope with the surging demand. “Besides ensuring our quality of service, we also have to be quick to adapt and accommodate to ad-hoc requests, such as providing additional storage space for incoming tools and parts for our customers,” said Shieh.
It is also extending additional services to ensure that supplies are quickly shipped out. DHL deploys material handlers at their customers’ production plants in Taiwan to manage the sensitive tools and machines needed to manufacture these chips. This ensures smooth delivery and functioning of the machines, added Shieh.
The logistics provider also offers cleanrooms and clean benches for cleaning of tools and parts to ensure that the components remain in pristine conditions. Even the smallest speck of dust can destroy an entire chip.
Aware that manpower is a big challenge for the industry, Shieh believes automation and management software solutions will boost the efficiency and speed of current operations, ranging from transport to assembly.
“If we can do more development on our software and improve our transportation management system, it can definitely make us more competitive,” said Shieh, adding that manufacturers can also do more to predict future demand and make better production forecasts.
The global chip shortage is unlikely to be resolved any time soon but any help to ease bottlenecks, speed up delivery, and smoothen deliveries will go a long way to overcoming the difficult situation.
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