Thursday, May 6th 2021
TSMC Pressured by U.S. Government for More Chips to Automakers
The United States Department of Commerce is reportedly pressing TSMC to meet chip orders by automobile manufacturers. The ongoing chip shortage threatens to derail production of automobiles by leading car makers, and is a major source of worry for one of America's largest manufacturing industries. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said that the Department has asked TSMC to prioritize orders by U.S. automobile companies in the near-term.
Secretary Raimondo, speaking at the Council of the Americas event on Tuesday, said that critical supply chains of the semiconductor industry required "re-shoring" (return of manufacturing to the US soil). "We're working hard to see if we can get the Taiwanese and TSMC, which is a big company there, to, you know, prioritize the needs of our auto companies since there's so many American jobs on the line," she said, responding to a question by a General Motors executive. Later on Wednesday, TSMC responded, stating "TSMC has been working with all parties to alleviate the automotive chip supply shortage, we understand it is a shared concern of the worldwide automotive industry."
Source:
Reuters
Secretary Raimondo, speaking at the Council of the Americas event on Tuesday, said that critical supply chains of the semiconductor industry required "re-shoring" (return of manufacturing to the US soil). "We're working hard to see if we can get the Taiwanese and TSMC, which is a big company there, to, you know, prioritize the needs of our auto companies since there's so many American jobs on the line," she said, responding to a question by a General Motors executive. Later on Wednesday, TSMC responded, stating "TSMC has been working with all parties to alleviate the automotive chip supply shortage, we understand it is a shared concern of the worldwide automotive industry."
47 Comments on TSMC Pressured by U.S. Government for More Chips to Automakers
useless junkfeatures to consumers then?I agree with what you said, it's crazy, but there is no let up in the race for info gathering.
The consumer wants what it wants, logic be damned.
Hell, modern engines require microchips not only for oxygen sensors / fuel-air mixtures... but also to maximize the intake / compression / combustion / exhaust strokes every time the engine cycles. Engines are so much smoother, more powerful, and more efficient because of these microchips. I don't see this going away any time soon.
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That being said, I HATE this touchscreen crap that modern cars have. Give me back my physical buttons: I wanna control my air conditioning without looking at a screen damn it. I understand the use of microcontrollers to make brakes better (antilock brakes), or traction control, or optimizing the engine. But they're crossing a line when my freaking air-conditioning is too difficult to use.You're wrong. These are exactly the chips that are in short supply. 28nm chips and other ancient-era chips have basically disappeared from the market. We're talking about low-tech STMicro chips, or TSMC's 28nm stuff.
The auto-industry chips (20nm or 28nm) is having a bigger shortage than the high tech 5nm or 7nm stuff right now.
www.cnbc.com/2021/05/05/semiconductor-shortage-hits-ford-bronco-suv-ranger-pickup-production.html
www.wdrb.com/in-depth/ford-trucks-stack-up-around-louisville-amid-chip-shortage/article_ad3a4680-add9-11eb-adab-37901147397d.html
www.npr.org/2021/04/08/985470204/more-plants-at-gm-go-dark-as-chip-shortage-continues-to-bite
Ford Bronco, and F-Series Truck production lines are being idled currently. These aren't cars with "high tech" shit in them, we're talking about the "normal" car chips used for "normal" stuff. Not high-tech infotainment screens.
TSMC has 90nm, 65nm, 40nm, 28nm nodes still operational in 1Q2021.
These old nodes are for automotive parts. Low-tech. TSMC caters to both high-tech (5nm / 7nm chips) and low-tech (28nm, 40nm, 65nm, 90nm chips)
Yeah, those 15-year old 90nm chip designs? Those are the ones in short supply right now. Well, and everything else too. But especially automotive-grade and older chips on older process nodes.
There's a degree of fungibility here. (Ex: ATMega328p is largely compatible with the newer ATMega328pb). But when it comes to safety critical car parts, if your car has a "ATMega328p" in it, you cannot order a "ATMega328pb" and declare it the same (even if those chips are nearly identical). At least, that's my understanding of how the automotive industry works. You have to keep ordering the older ATMega328p, just as a hypothetical example.
There's also TI, which probably have their own CAN-bus controller, but you'd have to rewrite all of your software if you wanted to use TI's chip instead. So its not like you can just switch chip companies immediately.
EDIT: Look at this "future" crap. Uggghhhhh
I recognize that this is where "car fashion" is going. But I really don't like it.
p.s. they can't even get the steering wheel on the right side :laugh:
Only reason why Vienna would have that is because of CIA intervention since God forbid there is a country on this Earth not following your exploitative and destructive economic system. I'm originally not from Austria, but from an ex-socialist country, so watch what you tell me because your words hold no weight to me, nor does your propaganda. I'll be the one talking back once capitalism causes the inevitable downfall of your country, and looking at how things are like in the US at the moment, it's not too far off. Cuba survived despite your multitude of sanctions, let's sanction you instead and see how your system fares...
On another note I'm pretty much done here before a moderator blitzkriegs me for being political and for not licking yankee boots. Goodbye, unwatching thread, and have fun discussing the topic at hand.