Earlier this week, Taiwan experienced a magnitude 6.4 earthquake—this seismic event interrupted manufacturing activities at several TSMC chip-making facilities. As a precaution, foundry employees in both Central and Southern Taiwan were evacuated. Production resumed fairly quickly following inspections of crucial infrastructure—no major damage to facilities or equipment was noted. The latest reports suggest that a relatively minor number of TSMC wafers have been affected by the recent quake, while some recalibration of instrumentation is required to get things back on track.

Inside sources reckon that up to 20,000 wafers (possibly 10,000 at a minimum) could be scrapped—assessments are reportedly still underway, but a small proportion of client shipments could be disrupted. News articles point to this total being spread across three affected locations. Fab 18 is a key 3 nm production hub—situated in Taiwan's Southern Science Park, Tainan's Fab 14 specializes in 4 nm and 5 nm processes, and Fab 8 (Hsinchu) takes care of 200 nm. Industry experts believe that TSMC will bounce back quickly, and that the damaged wafer count represents a minor dent in the proverbial armor—on a good day, manufacturing output can reach up to 37,000 units.