- Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd's (NYSE:TSM) advanced chip plant debut in the U.S. is three to six months behind schedule, Nikkei Asia reports.
- TSMC planned to move in chip production equipment by around September 2022 but decided to postpone to around February or March 2023.
- The deferral was mainly due to labor shortage, the on-and-off surge of COVID-19 infections in the U.S., complicated processes for obtaining the different types of licenses needed for construction.
- TSMC can often reach the equipment move-in phase for new plants in Taiwan in around 15 months and, in some cases, as little as 12 months.
- After installing the equipment, it can take up to a year for production lines to be qualified and production ramped up.
- TSM admitted that production at the U.S. plant will not start until the first quarter of 2024.
- Unfamiliarity with a new geography, competition from Intel Corp (NASDAQ:INTC) for workers, supply chain concerns continue to pinch TSMC along with limitations of management capability and higher unit cost of making chips in the U.S.
- Price Action: TSM shares traded higher by 3.73% at $124.24 on the last check Tuesday.
