[배진솔의 전자사전]The severe cold over the semiconductor… How far will it freeze

The US state of Texas has rescued 141 sea turtles found stunned in the sea on the 17th (local time) and loaded them back to port. (Photo = Texas Game Wardens)

[이데일리 배진솔 기자] The recent record cold wave that struck the United States is causing damage everywhere. As for how cold it is, it is said that a severe cold wave in about 120 years has come, including -41℃ in Yuma, Colorado, and -31℃ in Norton, Kansas. During this cold wave, thousands of sea turtles were found stunned on the beach in Texas.

Plants and power plants are also shutting down due to extreme cold and heavy snowfall. Because of the power shortage, they cut off the power supply to the large-scale factory and took an emergency response. Even if the power supply interruption period is short, the period of factory shutdown may be longer due to reorganization for operation. In today’s’Bae Jin-Sol’s Electronic Dictionary’, we will predict how far this effect will be.

(Photo = Hyundai Motor Company)

Austin in cold weather freezes semiconductor supply and raises prices… Set company profitability impact

Currently, in Austin, Texas, large-scale semiconductor factories such as Samsung Electronics, NXP, and Infineon have been shut down. This impact is expected to lead to an intensifying shortage of semiconductors and a corresponding price hike. As consumer sentiment, which had been contracted by Corona 19, has revived, semiconductors have become a valuable body in industries such as smartphones, PCs, servers, and automobiles. Last month, the DRAM fixed transaction price rebounded in 8 months, and the spot price continued to rise.

In particular, the pace of the increase in automotive semiconductor prices is expected to accelerate. Among the companies that have been shut down, NXP and Infineon are two major companies in the automotive semiconductor market. Infineon ranks third in the world, accounting for 44% of all sales by automotive semiconductors. NXP ranks sixth in the analog semiconductor market, and one of its key growth areas is automotive semiconductors.

As the supply shortage of automotive semiconductors intensifies, Taiwanese foundry companies such as Vanguard International Semiconductor and UMC are considering raising semiconductor prices by up to 15%. The price increase of parts makers will affect the profitability of automakers.

Samsung Electronics’ shutdown of its Austin plant is expected to affect set makers’ production disruption. The Austin plant mainly produces power semiconductors (PMIC) products for IT devices and semiconductors for communication based on 14 nanometer (nm·1 billionth of a meter) process technology. Recently, the shortage of PMICs and display driving chips (DDI) used in smartphones and TVs has also been severe, and component prices have increased by 20%. Set makers are also expected to be limited in increasing production due to shortage of semiconductor supply.

An LG Electronics employee is producing LG OLED TVs on a TV production line located in Reynosa, Mexico. (Photo = LG Electronics)

Home appliances, automobiles, and oil factories are also’shut down’… Impact across the industry

The aftermath of the severe cold also led to the shutdown of TV factories and finished car factories. LG Electronics’ TV plant of Raynaud in northeastern Mexico and a refrigerator plant in Monterrey were shut down due to power outages for two days from the 15th. Mexico is receiving natural gas from the United States, but the local plant has also been shut down when the US cold wave made it difficult to supply power.

Kia Motors also temporarily shut down its Mexican plant. We are still monitoring the supply and demand situation of natural gas and adjusting the resumption schedule. Port General Motors (GM), Toyota, and Nissan are also struggling to operate their production lines as they have difficulties in shifting manpower due to heavy snowfall.

There are also concerns that the cold wave could disrupt oil and gas production in Texas. Due to poor electricity supply, crude oil production facilities and refineries cannot operate properly. Crude oil production facilities and refineries take a considerable period of time to restart once they are shut down, so oil prices are predicted to continue rising for the time being.

An industry insider said, “Southern regions such as Texas are places where cold waves do not usually come, so they are more affected by unexpected situations.”