Apple Looks at Backup Suppliers Amid TSMC Capacity Shortage
With Taiwan chipmaker TSMC at capacity, Apple is exploring alternatives to its chief supplier. But analysts in Taiwan don't see real competition on the horizon for TSMC.
Apple Faces Supply Chain Constraints Despite Strong Demand
REPORTER:
Apple’s May earnings call brought good news for the company, with hefty demand for both the iPhone 17 series and laptops like the Mac Mini and MacBook Neo.
But chip shortages mean product shortages. Supply constraints have held back iPhone sales, and there could be months of backlog for the Mac Mini.
And Apple’s chief supplier, Taiwan’s chip giant TSMC, has a lot on its plate — with strong demand from other big clients like Nvidia meaning production’s tight. And so, Bloomberg’s reporting that Apple is starting to look elsewhere for backup suppliers. Executives have talked with Intel. And they’ve visited a Texas plant Samsung is developing just as the Korean conglomerate reaches a trillion US dollar market valuation amid surging demand.
But it’s early days — and there are not yet any orders. Meanwhile, analysts in Taiwan don’t see serious competition on the horizon for TSMC.
TSMC’s stable delivery record and massive R&D moat are still hard to challenge.
So unless Apple shoulders the burden itself, it's highly likely to face an extreme supply chain disruption.
But TSMC Chair C.C. Wei himself has said production capacity is still lacking — meaning the Apple product shortage will likely continue in the short term.
Dolphine Chen and John Van Trieste for TaiwanPlus.
