Apple chip production largely back on track thanks to advanced building designs

Apple chip production is largely back on track following the major earthquake in Taiwan, thanks in part due to “world-class seismic mitigation measures” in TSMC’s plants.

Some plants were temporarily evacuated to ensure the safety of employees, and there was some damage – the worst of which appears to have been to the company’s most advanced plant, using the 2nm process expected to be used for the iPhone 17 Pro chips …

Major earthquake in Taiwan

Taiwan suffered its biggest earthquake in 25 years on Wednesday morning, killing nine people and injuring more than 1,000. Hundreds of people were also trapped in tunnels for a time, with others stranded in a national park after exit routes were damaged.

The casualty rate was as low as it was thanks to a combination of the location of the epicenter, and extremely high building standards, designed to enable them to withstand major shocks.

Given the extremely precise nature of advanced chip production, it was feared that there may have been extensive damage to chipmaking equipment and wafers, potentially leading to supply chain disruption for Apple products. However, it appears that the impact was limited.

Apple chip production largely back on track

TrendForce says its analysis shows that while TSMC plants did suffer some damage, the advanced construction methods used meant that this was limited.

Most wafer foundries were situated in areas that experienced a Level 4 intensity shake. Owing to the high-spec construction standards of Taiwan’s semiconductor factories, which feature world-class seismic mitigation measures capable of reducing seismic impacts by 1 to 2 levels, the facilities were largely able to resume operations after inspection shutdowns quickly.

Even though there were instances of wafer breakages or damages due to emergency shutdowns or earthquake damages, the capacity utilization rates of mature process factories—averaging between 50–80%—meant that losses were quickly recovered after operations resumed, resulting in only minor impacts on capacity.

Most advanced 2nm plant worst hit

The worst damage appears to be have been to the plant known as Fab 12 [fabrication plant 12], which is carrying out pre-production of 2nm chips expected to be used in the iPhone 17 Pro models.

Only Fab 12 suffered some water damage to equipment due to broken pipes, mainly affecting the not-yet-mass-produced 2nm process. This is expected to have a short-term impact on operations, potentially necessitating the acquisition of new equipment, thus slightly increasing capital expenditures.

Other facilities resumed operations after inspections with no significant damage reported, and operations at other sites have progressively returned to normal following evacuation or inspection.

Photo by Alex wong on Unsplash