Many companies in the semiconductor industry fear the Russia-Ukraine military campaign will exacerbate a global chip shortage, which has been prolonged because of the Covid-19 and unprecedented demand.
In light of the situation, chipmakers on Wednesday issued a reassuring message, saying that the military problem in Ukraine is unlikely to make the chip shortage worse. Association Semiconductor Industry (SIA), Russia is a small market for the chip industry and its launch of a military campaign against Ukraine is not a threat to chip supplies. SIA said US and allied sanctions against Russia are also unlikely to have a significant effect on industry sales.
“While the impact of the new regulations on Russia could be significant, Russia is not a direct consumer of large quantities of semiconductors, accounting for less than 0.1% of global chip purchases. In addition, the semiconductor industry has many important suppliers of raw materials and gases, so we do not believe there will be immediate supply disruption risks related to the Russian and Ukrainian military issues. ,” SIA CEO John Neuffer said in a statement.
Ukraine’s position as a major neon producer has raised concerns, as the gas is used in the production of semiconductors. However, chip companies were warned of a possible bottleneck in 2014 when Russia annexed Crimea. As a result, chip companies have been trying to diversify their suppliers ever since.
According to Bloomberg, some big companies in the semiconductor industry also have their own messages to appease customers. “We do not anticipate any impact on our supply chain. Our strategy of having a diversified global supply chain minimizes the risk of potential local disruptions,” said Intel.
GlobalFoundries, the largest US contract semiconductor design, and manufacturing company say having factories around the world and having its own local suppliers will help reduce potential risks to the company. company. Reportedly, GlobalFoundries has factories in the suburbs of New York (USA), Dresden (Germany), and Singapore.