Five Taiwanese Industries Suffering Major Impact from Japanese Quake

Taipei, March 16, 2011 (CENS)--Five domestic industries are likely to receive a major blow from the shock wave of the Japanese earthquake which is sweeping the global economy, including flat panel display (FPD), semiconductor, optical, auto, and tourism.

Yang Sheng-fan, director of Topology Research Institute, noted that the ICT (information-communications technology) industry is concerned about the effect of power supply on the production of the Japanese electronics industry, which is a critical supplier of upstream key components and parts.

He noted that in the wake of the strong earthquake, power rationing will lead to 6-10% reduction from normal power supply. Should the power reduction takes place entirely in the industrial sector, many factories will be forced to scale down their operation and the impact on the output of the ICT industry is estimated at 20%.

Production of SUMCO, the world’s leading silicon wafer supplier, has been partially suspended, possibly leading to scrambling for the key material among semiconductor firms worldwide. The situation will impact the entire semiconductor industry, from foundry in the upstream sector and assembly in the downstream sector. Even finished-product suppliers will be affected at various extents.

FPD firms may suffer from disruption in the supply of key materials, such as ACF, as the earthquake-stricken area of Kanto is a major production bastion of such materials for the global market.

Taiwanese digital-still camera suppliers also have serious concern over the possible power outage on the operation of the Japanese industry, due to its heavy reliance on the Japanese key components and parts. In addition, they have received considerable amount of contract-production orders from Japanese counterparts.

Taiwanese automakers are facing a similar problem in securing the supply of key components and parts, as their Japanese parent firms have suspended production from this week. Nissan has decided to resume production on March 18, but Toyota and Honda have yet to announce their schedule for the resumption of production.