Taiwan's chip shortage worsens global chip shortageTaiwan's chip shortage worsens global chip shortage

Taiwan, which accounts for more than 60% of global chip production, has recently suffered its worst drought in half a century, according to the wall street journal.

The report said the current drought has had a mild impact on chipmakers as a result of the government's response, but the makers have begun to adjust, and officials warned that water shortages could worsen without proper rainfall.

According to Jibang Technology estimates, Taiwan wafer manufacturers account for 65 percent of global capacity, the vast majority of capacity is TSMC. "Taiwan is the focus of semiconductor manufacturing, and drought has put more pressure on semiconductor practice director at Accenture (Accenture), an international consultancy.

Seasonal typhoons provide most of Taiwan's water, but last year no typhoon entered the country, tightening Taiwan's water supply, prompting the government to start zoning water supply to more than a million businesses and residents.

Demand for chips has surged in the global automotive and electronics industries, but supply has been hit by a string of natural disasters. The cold weather in texas earlier this year forced samsung electronics to temporarily shut down two of austin's chip factories, and the japanese car-chip giant's reza electronics utility, which was hit by an earthquake in february and a fire in march, said it could take months to recover. Taiwan is now facing a severe drought that could hit global chip supplies.

After one of its memory chip plants was cut back on water supply, it would cost production to ensure alternative sources of water and preserve them, according to Meiguang, a DRAM U.S. plant with plants in Taichung and Taoyuan. TSMC and UPS have rented water trucks to increase water supply, and TSMC has discussed with some companies the use of groundwater near the plant.

Taiwan's water supply is tight, but it is not expected to have a significant impact on the company's operations, TSMC President David Wei said.

Since october, the taiwan government has launched drought disaster response measures to reduce the impact of tight water supply, including reservoir desilting, desalination, use of pipelines to mobilize water, and encourage manufacturers to carry out water-saving measures.