Impacts of a Taiwan Offshore Earthquake

By: SiliconExpert on December 21st, 2020

According to the Central Weather Bureau (CWB), on Thursday, December 10 at 9:19 p.m. a magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck northeastern Taiwan. The epicenter of the temblor was 27.2 kilometers east of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 76.8 km. Tremors lasted approximately 15 seconds.

Taiwan uses an intensity scale of one to seven to gauge the degree to which a quake is felt at a specific location. The quake’s intensity registered a 4 in Yilan County, New Taipei City, Hualien County, Taipei City, Taoyuan City, Hsinchu County, Nantou County, Taichung City, Miaoli County, Yunlin County, and Chiayi County. A level 3 was recorded in Keelung City, Hsinchu City, Taitung County, Changhua County, Chiayi City, Kaohsiung City, and Tainan City. And a level 2 was felt in Pingtung County and Penghu County, while a lesser intensity of 1 was reported in Lienchang County. No injuries had been reported at the time of publication.

Impacts on the Electronics Industry:

Based on the operational statuses of the semiconductor plants in Taiwan the semiconductor factories on the island have already resumed normal operation. As of today, there are no direct impacts on the electronic industry according to the published information from the manufacturers. Below is a list of some of the leading manufacturers in Taiwan and their current statuses.

Nanya Technology:

Confirmed with its supply chain and subcontractors to ensure the continuity of production, the incident has no material impact on Nanya’s operation.

DISCO HI-TEC AMERICA:

Our business is not affected by this earthquake.

Taiwan Semiconductor:

TSC is unaffected by the Northeastern Taiwan Earthquake on Thursday, December 10.

pSemi Corporation:

All buildings, factories, and equipment are operational with no noticeable damage. Everything is up and running, and there will be no delay as a result of the earthquake.

TrendForce Corp.:

TrendForce – The global leader in providing in-depth market intelligence and professional consultation services – indicates that Taiwan-based facilities account for 21% of the global DRAM production capacity. These local facilities include MTTW (Micron’s Taiwan-based subsidiary), Nanya Technology, and several other fabs that are relatively smaller in scale. The earthquake has not caused damages to foundry production lines.

SE continues to monitor this situation and announcements from manufacturers. Any changes will be communicated through blog update.

For more information on this situation, please visit:

December 15, 2020, by Mahmoud Salem