TSMC chairman Mark Liu took part in a White House-hosted online meeting of the world's semiconductor powerhouses on Tuesday. After the meeting, Liu reiterated the Taiwan-based foundry house's commitment to building a wafer fab in the US state of Arizona. The semiconductor supply chain has been troubled by shortages for months, with major Taiwanese IC vendors set for another wave of price hikes in second-quarter 2021. Development of microLED applications have been gaining momentum, and commercialized products may be available as early as year-end 2021.

TSMC is scheduled to hold its investors' conference later this week. Market observers speculate that the foundry house may disclose plans to revise upward its capex budget for 2021, judging from the fact TSMC has recently vowed to spend US$100 billion on capacity expansions in the next three years. ODMs Quanta Computer and Compal Electronics are optimistic about their notebook shipment growths in second-quarter 2021, but remain wary of components shortages undermining their shipments for full-year 2021. Shortages of audio+LAN chips from Realtek have been described as one of the major factors stalling production for many end-market devices, including Chromebooks.

The notebook market has been robust in recent months thanks to stay-at-home needs. Chromebook shipments are expected to rise sharply in 2021. Apart from Intel, some other chip vendors, such as MediaTek and Elan, are poised to see robust growths in reenues from the Chromebook segment. ODM Wistron saw its notebook shipments spiked 52% on year in first-quarter 2021. The smatphone market is also recovering, and Apple is expected to adopt teh more power-efficient LTPO backplane technology for OLED displays in the premium models of its next-generation iPhone lineup.

MediaTek and Qualcomm may be the dominant players in the 5G smartphone SoC sector, but Chinese phone vendors Oppo and Xiaomi are mounting a challenge by developing their own chips. Shortages plaguing the semidoncutor industry are sending firms scrambling for supply. NOR flash chipmakers say that more of their clients are now willing to strike long-term supply contracts. For backend firms, demand from MCU clients remains robust.

Despite recent speculation about decreasing demand from Apple for semiconductor manufacturing services, the latest news from the supply chain has indicated TSMC will start shipping chips for the next-generation iPhones by the end of May ahead of schedule, with the foundry set to see major increases in output from its advanced processes. The Taiwanese foundry has also recently obtained rush orders from Qualcomm for making the US client's high-end 5G chips. For wireless connectivity, Digitimes recently interviewed Ignion CEO Carles Puente to learn more about the company's Virtual Antenna - a small off-the-shelf antenna booster that he says simplies the design of devices and shorten their time-to-market.

Handset vendors are expected to launch more foldable devices with AMOLED screens this year. Global shipments of flexible AMOLED panels for foldable devices are expected to reach 12 million units in 2021. In the handset market, where sales have been recovering, MediaTek stands a good chance of becoming the world's number-one vendor of mobile SoCs in 2021. In the semiconductor sector, backend firms expect demand for speciality DRAM to stay robust through third-quarter 2021.

TSMC has aggressive plans for expanding its fab capacity. In a recent letter sent to clients about canceling discounts for foundry service quotes, TSMC discloses it plans to spend US$100 billion on capacity expansions for the next three years - an annually average that is more than its 2021 capex budget. Chip shortages have been sending vendors in many sectors scrambling for supply - from manufacturing services, components to devices. Notebook ODMs describe the volumes of orders they have been receiving as "ridiculously" big, clearly as a result of overbooking by clients who just keep placing orders, despite possibilities that end-market demand could chill overnight. And chip shortages may not ease until at least first-half 2022, according to Arm Taiwan's president.

The current short supply of semiconductor fab capacity is not normal, as the overall capacity should be more than enough to satisfy all demand in normal times, according TSMC chairman Mark Liu, who describes as "economically unrealistic" attempts by the US and Europe to expand their own fab capacity to satisfy all of their needs. But the short supply has been sending foundry quotes rising, with UMC and PSMC set to adjust upward their quotes by 10-20% starting April for rush orders. The eletric vehicle (EV) industry has seen fast development with rosy long-term outlook, thanks to government policy support, according to industry experts speaking at a forum on future cars held in Taipei.

Smartphones released by first-tier brands in India in 2020 were mostly models priced below INR15,000 (US$205), showing the purchasing power of Indian consumers is still rather weak, according to Digitimes Research's latest study on India's smartphone market.

TSMC is fast advancing its manufacturing processes. The foundry house's N4 - an extension of its 5nm process family - will be available for volume production in fourth-quarter 2021 ahead of its original scheduled. Supply constraints have been haunting many industry sectors for months, and Macronix expects NOR flash supply to stay tight for the next two years. In the display sector, Corning has announced price hikes for its glass substrates starting second-quarter 2021 to reflect increasing production costs and expenses.