The carmaking industry has been plagued by components shortages for months, but TSMC says its supply of automotive chips to clients should start to improve in second-quarter 2021. But the automotive chip shortage is a structural problem where cars need more electronic components, intensifying competition between carmakers and IT firms for foundry support. And at Samsung, tight in-house foundry capacity as a result of a previous power outage hitting one of its fabs in the US is sending the Korean giant looking to outsource some of its chip production.
TSMC expects auto chip shortage to greatly improve starting 2Q21: The ongoing shortage of automotive chips will be greatly reduced starting the second quarter of 2021, according to pure-play foundry TSMC.
Car vendors dealing with structural shortage of chips: Car vendors are dealing with a structural shortage of automotive chips resulting in their supply constraints, according to industry sources, who believe the impact of a recent power outage at TSMC's chip plant will be insignificant on the overall auto chip supply.
Samsung reportedly looking to outsource memory controller production: Samsung Electronics is looking to outsource the production of its memory controllers amid tight capacity at its own foundry, according to market sources.