A look inside TSMC

One thing I don't understand is why fabs got uprooted from USA. There doesn't seem to be cost savings if you try to offshore a multi-billion dollar fab because labor is not the main cost. So fab in China/Taiwan/USA should cost more or less same money to run.

Re: A look inside TSMC

#7

Post by notlukesky » Sun, Dec 29, 2019, 9:03 AM UTC

“Samsung announced at the Foundry Forum earlier this year that it plans on spending $116 billion over the next decade in an effort to develop the chip production capacity and expertise that will serve the needs of key players in the 5G, automotive, machine learning, blockchain, and high-performance computing markets.”

From: https://www.techspot.com/news/83331-samsung-pouring-116-bill...

Re: A look inside TSMC

#8

Post by barrkel » Sun, Dec 29, 2019, 9:07 AM UTC

sytelus wrote: post #6

One thing I don't understand is why fabs got uprooted from USA. There doesn't seem to be cost savings if you try to offshore a multi-billion dollar fab because labor is not the main cost. So fab in China/Taiwan/USA should cost more or less same money to run.

There's nothing magical about innovation that requires it to be located in the US. Why do you think a foreign company should relocate to the US?

Re: A look inside TSMC

#9

Post by di4na » Sun, Dec 29, 2019, 9:11 AM UTC

sytelus wrote: post #6

One thing I don't understand is why fabs got uprooted from USA. There doesn't seem to be cost savings if you try to offshore a multi-billion dollar fab because labor is not the main cost. So fab in China/Taiwan/USA should cost more or less same money to run.

Environment protection laws. They all reject quite a lotbof nasty chemicals.

We can filter or recycle them but it cost a lot at scale. This is an open secret in EE schools.

Re: A look inside TSMC

#10

Post by yorwba » Sun, Dec 29, 2019, 9:13 AM UTC

sytelus wrote: post #6

One thing I don't understand is why fabs got uprooted from USA. There doesn't seem to be cost savings if you try to offshore a multi-billion dollar fab because labor is not the main cost. So fab in China/Taiwan/USA should cost more or less same money to run.

If fabs everywhere cost the same, why would you build a new fab in the US instead of closer to where the final product will be assembled?