19 In the early morning of March, Japanese Renesas caught fire in the factory 12-inch production line in the village of Ci due to the plating equipment current problem, and it was not completely extinguished until 8: 00 that morning.

Factory disaster and its influence

According to local media reports, there is a 300mm/12 inch production line in the N3 building where the fire broke out. The fire destroyed N3 "11wafer production equipment, accounting for 2% of the whole factory". In addition, the black smoke and dust produced by the fire have completely polluted the finished and semi-finished wafers in the workshop, and the products on these production lines have been scrapped.

Because the fab needs an extremely clean environment, although the fire has been put out, the Naka factory of Renesas, the largest semiconductor factory in Japan, has all stopped production. As a key global manufacturer, Renesas's suspension of production this time will bring immeasurable impact on the global supply of automotive chips.

At present, the factory has given the judgment of "stopping production for at least one month", and it may take longer to replace the damaged equipment and it will take time for the production line to return to its original state. The CEO of Renesas made it clear that "we are worried that this will have a huge impact on chip supply".

Renesas said that about two-thirds of the production capacity affected by this disaster is automobile chips. Therefore, it is expected that automakers will face a supply shock for at least one month. At present, the 200mm/8-inch production line and wafer test building can operate normally in this factory.

Why does the world of automobile industry lack "core"?

In the case of global chip shortage, automobile manufacturers all over the world are trying to keep the assembly line running. Renesas, as one of the three largest automobile semiconductor manufacturers in the world, closed the Naka factory for a week in early February this year due to the earthquake. Now it is necessary to stop production for a month because of the fire, which makes the automobile manufacturing chain that has suffered from "lack of core" for a long time "more difficult".

Due to the shutdown caused by the global epidemic in 2020 and strict isolation measures, since the second half of last year, the production capacity of wafer foundries has been in short supply, and components such as power supply and drivers have begun to be out of stock. Since 20021,the earthquake in Japan and the cold wave in Texas, USA, have damaged the production capacity of wafer factories, and the shortage signal has been transmitted to the downstream of the market, which has brought about tight supply and soaring prices.

The semiconductor industry with a global output value of 433 billion is highly dependent on highly specialized fabs. Supply and demand are often in a delicate balance and extremely sensitive to the external environment.

In 2020, the epidemic caused a sharp increase in the demand for consumer electronics products, and the wafer factory re-coordinated production capacity for the market and orders. The orders of consumer electronics manufacturers are bigger, so they have become VVIP of the foundry, and the orders of automobile chips have also been postponed, but the demand for automobile consumption has not declined, but has rebounded.

The production requirements of automotive semiconductors are extremely demanding, and the test before production is very long. Once the manufacturer receives the materials from the bicycle factory, the occupation of production capacity and raw materials is often long-term. So once the production capacity allows, it will be very difficult to restore the normal production rhythm. The gradual extension of chip supply cycle leads to the delay of vehicle production. By 20021year, the shortage of semiconductors spread all over the world, and all automobile manufacturers found that there were almost no "cores" available.

"This is terrible for the automobile supply chain, and they may have to increase their inventory." After the announcement of Renesas fire information, some analysts warned that the "grab" of semiconductor production capacity by global automakers will intensify. Nissan and Honda were forced to reduce their production plans.

As early as March of 12, the CEO of Renesas said in an open interview that (202 1) will keep the supply tight in the first half of the year. "From the current situation, this situation will last until the second half of the year. But no one can say for sure. "

(provided by Souxin Easy)

SIA said, when will the chip shortage be solved?

Renesas, NXP, etc. With less production capacity, big car companies may expand suppliers and procurement chains to supplement the "core".

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