TSMC pauses production after strong earthquake hits Taiwan

Taiwan has experienced an earthquake significant enough that chipmaking champ TSMC has halted work at its plants.

According to Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration Seismological Center, a 6.4-magnitude tremblor shook things up at seventeen minutes past midnight on January 21st (1617 UTC). A quake of that strength can cause damage in built-up areas.

This one was centered in a mountainous region of Taiwan and reportedly caused 27 injuries and minor damage such as glass bottles breaking after being shaken off supermarket shelves.

But it was still felt around 40km away in the city of Tainan, and 200km away in the city of Taichung. The Register mentions them as both house TSMC fabrication plants and, according to local media reports, the chipmaker was sufficiently worried about worker safety that staff were told to cease work and leave the building.

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TSMC is now apparently checking for any damage. Chipmaking equipment is extremely precise, so it’s possible an earthquake created small changes that could introduce errors that reduce the yield of usable chips. Recalibration could therefore be required before full-scale production can resume.

The chipmaker has not made a public statement about the situation at the time of writing but sources familiar with the situation told Japan’s Nikkei it could be several days before production resumes at full capacity.

If correct, that will irk some TSMC customers as the company’s fabs are often booked well into the future.

Taiwanese media reports that TSMC suppliers have mobilized to ensure any pause in production is brief. Geological incidents are a near-daily occurrence in Taiwan, as are geopolitical rumblings. The latter this week came in the form of uncertainty about US President Trump’s policy position regarding the republic, which the Biden Administration regarded as a vital friend that America would defend should China attempt a forcible re-unification. Taiwanese contract laptop makers Compal and Inventec are reportedly considering moving manufacturing facilities to the USA if threatened with import tariffs by the new administration. ®