Mar 15, 2021 - Technology

Austin's NXP Semiconductor likely to lose $100 million as chip shortage drags

Scott Rosenberg

somebody pushing a wheel with semiconductors uphill — Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

Austin-based NXP Semiconductor said it would likely lose $100 million thanks to a month-long shutdown in the wake of Texas' cold-weather-driven electricity-grid collapse, the Austin American-Statesman reports.

Why it matters: A global chip shortage — stemming from pandemic-related supply-chain disruptions and climate-change-related disasters — has hobbled U.S. auto manufacturing and could threaten the vigor of a post-pandemic economic recovery.

NXP's Austin plants are back online, but Samsung's have not resumed full production.
In Taiwan, a major center for semiconductor production, a drought tied to climate change is threatening chip production, which depends on an abundant supply of water.
An analysis at Seeking Alpha suggests that big tech companies like Apple have more experience at planning for long-term chip needs and have locked in their supplies whereas the auto industry, with its "just-in-time" production philosophy, may have a harder time.

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Austin's NXP Semiconductor likely to lose $100 million as chip shortage drags

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