Keep pulling the thread on Fab 14.
TSMC is building a $40 billion chip factory in Arizona.
TSMC's Arizona facility had to import ultra-pure sulfuric acid from Taiwan, a distance of 6,500 miles, because American suppliers could not meet its quality standards.
In 2020, TSMC's new 5-nanometer process achieved defect rates of approximately 0.1 per square centimeter within months of launch.
In 2019, a contaminated batch of photoresist chemical at TSMC's Fab 14 resulted in a revenue loss of about $550 million from scrapping 10,000 to 30,000 wafers.
The US government's CHIPS Act is investing $52 billion to onshore semiconductor manufacturing.
TSMC's Arizona project is supported by an estimated $6.6 billion federal grant from the CHIPS Act.
A key geopolitical goal of the CHIPS Act is to reduce U.S. reliance on semiconductor manufacturing in Asia, particularly Taiwan.
Since TSMC's announcement to build in Arizona, 39 semiconductor-related companies have relocated or expanded in the Greater Phoenix region, representing over $37 billion in investment.
TSMC founder Morris Chang stated that manufacturing chips in the U.S. could cost 50% more than in Taiwan, with the Arizona fab potentially costing 100% more.
According to a Nikkei Asia report, construction costs for several of TSMC's suppliers in Arizona surged to four or five times what they would be in Asia.
Key TSMC material suppliers, including LCY Chemical, Kanto PPC, Topco Scientific, and Changchun, paused or delayed their Arizona plant constructions by early 2024 due to high costs.
TSMC delayed the start of volume production at its Arizona fab from 2024 to 2025, citing a lack of skilled workers.