According to a new report, the Ukraine crisis brings a new wave of uncertainty to the global semiconductor industry as small and medium chip producers may place multiple orders to offset the risk that raw material supplies could deteriorate, according to a new report.
Counterpoint Research says geopolitical tensions now shift from Asia to Europe and from semiconductor manufacturing to raw material supply, capacity expansion and investment decisions will have to be re-evaluated.
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“Large enterprises have more purchasing power. “Small and medium chipmakers and allied businesses may face increased supply pressures due to depleted inventories and difficulty connecting to new sources if the struggle continues,” said Brady Wang from Counterpoint.
“The rapid rise in the prices of metals (nickel and palladium) will represent a new impediment to the revival of the automotive market,” he said in a blog post.
Some of the raw materials exported from Russia and Ukraine, such as the rare gas neon, the chemical C4F6 and the metals palladium, nickel, platinum, rhodium and titanium, are important for semiconductor manufacturing.
Palladium is used in component production, such as for substrates in PCBs.
However, precious metals such as palladium, platinum and rhodium are mainly used in catalytic converters for vehicles.
Titanium nitride (TiN) is a widely used material for semiconductor manufacturing as a diffusion barrier.
“Russia is the world’s second largest exporter of titanium (the US is No. 1). Lithium battery production may also face some upheaval as nickel, of which Russia is a major producer, is an important component of these batteries. metal,” Wang said.
In the medium term, the above raw material shortages will have little impact on semiconductor producers. The position will be managed through existing inventory and other suppliers. However, it is inevitable that there will be a significant increase in prices.
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“If conflict persists, supply chain uncertainty will keep raw material inventories at high levels for a long time. Supply chain management will become even more complex,” he said.
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