Industry insiders breathed a sigh of relief as it was reported that the fire at Taiwan's TSMC factory was minor, as they had been deeply worried that supply issues would worsen amidst the recent severe semiconductor supply shortage.

According to Taiwanese media on the 1st, a fire reportedly broke out at TSMC's Plant 12. The fire occurred on the morning of the 31st, and fortunately, it was reported to be a smoke incident caused by a substation malfunction rather than a large-scale fire.

It was reported that while there were no casualties or property damage, one employee who inhaled smoke was transported to the hospital.

In addition, it was reported that the fire occurred at TSMC's research and development and test mass production plant, and that there was no impact on existing production facilities.

A TSMC official stated, “There are no disruptions to semiconductor production.”

Amid the recent ongoing semiconductor shortage, the crisis is being further exacerbated by the shutdown of factories at automotive semiconductor manufacturers and major foundries.

Last February, the factories of the Netherlands' NXP and Germany's Infineon in Texas suspended operations due to a cold wave, and Samsung Electronics' Austin factory also resumed normal operations six weeks after suspending them due to a record-breaking cold wave.

In March, the production of automotive semiconductors was suspended due to a fire at Japan's Renesas Naka plant in Ibaraki Prefecture. The industry estimates that the loss in vehicle production due to the fire at Renesas will be approximately 1.8 million units.

Fortunately, as the fire at TSMC turned out to be minor, it is expected that the impact on the semiconductor supply shortage will not be significant.

Meanwhile, TSMC announced on the 1st that it would cancel price discounts for all orders from its customers in 2022 and proceed with capacity expansion investments amounting to $100 billion over the next three years.

This investment is interpreted as a move to resolve the recent semiconductor shortage and prepare for increased demand for 5G, AI, and more.