Shortage of chips has Asian chipmakers run helter skeltor to fulfill their needs

With expansion of their production in mind and capacity to meet a global shortage that has been acutely felt by carmakers, Asian chipmakers are rushing to plug the strong demand as and how they can.

Automakers from General Motors to Stellantis and Honda Motor have been shutting assembly lines due to the shortages which in some cases have been exacerbated by the former U.S. administration's sanctions against Chinese chip factories. Some firms have also reduced  their staff.

Eight-inch chip manufacturing plants owned mostly by Asian firms are particularly under strain primarily due to under-investment in recent years. The majority of such factories are used to make auto chips.

Consumer demand in China especially for cars has snapped back unexpectedly quickly from the Coronavirus crisis and orders for products such as laptops and mobile phones in regions still struggling with pandemic restrictions such as Europe and the United States have also picked up.

The global concerns about the chip shortage were underscored at recent quarterly earnings calls held by companies from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC) to South Korea's SK Hynix.