Smaller peer United Microelectronics Corp. declined to comment on how it may respond to the U.S. query, though CFO Liu Chi-tung told Bloomberg News that the company will protect customers’ non-public information.
Meanwhile, South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on Wednesday released a statement expressing concern over the scope of the U.S. request. Other media including Korea JoongAng Daily also cited unidentified people at local chipmakers as saying they may have a hard time complying with the requests.
The potential standoff comes as chip shortages are going from bad to worse. Lead times in the industry — the gap between putting in a semiconductor order and taking delivery — rose for the ninth month in a row to an average of 21.7 weeks in September, according to Susquehanna Financial Group. That is by far the longest since the firm began tracking the data in 2017.
In the U.S. questionnaire, chipmakers were asked to comment on inventories, backlogs, delivery time, procurement practices and what they were doing to increase output. Commerce is also requesting information on each product’s top customers. But the department has come to realize that many are struggling with the questionnaire and it is preparing an FAQ to help companies respond, TSMC’s Fang said.
“If the U.S. is looking to resolve supply chain issues, we will see how we can best assist them,” Fang said. “We have done a lot to help, including increasing output of auto chips and prioritizing auto customers to a certain degree.”
