Taiwan's small- to medium-size panel shipments are expected to increase 10.9% sequentially in the third quarter of 2021 due to seasonality.

Taiwan's large-size LCD panel shipments reached 73.76 million units in the third quarter of 2021, rising 2.5% sequentially.

Global tablet shipments amounted to 35.21 million units in third-quarter 2021.

Third-quarter 2021 smartphone shipments to the China market remained in low gear, coming to only 73.7 million units.

To prevent national security being affected by the semiconductor demand/supply imbalance, countries around the world are offering strong incentives to attract major semiconductor companies to set up local wafer fabs. TSMC has been a beneficiary under such environment as it has secured subsidies from the US and Japanese governments. Seeking long-term solutions for the global chip shortage, automakers have begun collaborating with IC designers and foundries or even design their own automotive chips.

With semiconductor becoming a strategic asset and the pressure of electric vehicle (EV) transformation looming, Japan has developed an industry revitalization policy to encourage international and local companies to expand their investment in Japan through subsidies.

In the coming years, the semiconductor industry is expected to see a strong market, and TSMC and other foundries are expanding their facilities and investments. All upstream and downstream industry players - including those in the foundry, packaging material, and fab tool sectors - are all keen on making investments. Taiwan's role in the supply chain is becoming increasingly important.

The shortage of chips is still a headache for Asian technology companies and major carmakers. As the US Department of Commerce's deadline for semiconductor companies to turn over critical information approaches, it remains to be seen whether the department will be able to find a way to ease the bottleneck in semiconductor supply as it claims.