Supply Chain

Japan's Yamaha is known for acoustic pianos, but the world's largest instrument maker generates more sales from keyboards and other electric instruments. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi)
Companies

Electronic piano maker Yamaha sends cautious note over chip crunch

President says semiconductors used in audio gear hard to replace

22 July 2022
BOE expects the panel market to recover in 2023, with an upward trend apparent since March.
Semiconductors

Display makers seek new growth with bet on chip packaging tech

Innolux, BOE and others apply their display know-how to chipmaking

21 July 2022
Ezhou Huahu Airport is expected to process 3.3 million tonnes of cargo a year by 2030. (Photo from SF Holding's social media)
Transportation

China's first full-scale air cargo hub opens for business

Ezhou Huahu Airport to become world's No. 4 mover of freight

21 July 2022
Dutch company ASML sells chipmaking equipment such as deep UV lithography systems and cutting-edge extreme ultraviolet lithography machines. (Photo courtesy of ASML)
Semiconductors

ASML warns chip gear ban against China will disrupt supply chain

Europe's top producer of chipmaking tools likely to hike price amid inflation

21 July 2022
Nidec founder and CEO Shigenobu Nagamori has blamed President and Chief Operating Officer Jun Seki for the company's weak performance. (Screenshot from Nidec's website) 
Companies

Nidec profit stays flat as Shanghai lockdowns, inflation hit

Founder CEO vows turnaround with tough cost control, EV push

20 July 2022
China's SiEngine is looking to boost delivery of existing products as well as increase research and development of vehicle-grade computer chips. (Source photo from SiEngine WeChat page)
DealStreetAsia

Sequoia China leads $148m Series A round for auto chip maker

Startup SiEngine will use investment for R&D, increasing deliveries

20 July 2022
In 2021, China purchased nearly 70% of the world’s iron ore exports, spending about $180 billion.
Caixin

China close to setting up iron ore trading giant

Company aims to consolidate domestic industry, coordinate mining investment

20 July 2022
A nuclear power plant in France. Paris has given nuclear energy a second look in the interest of carbon reduction.
Energy

Russia's nuclear fuel dominance impedes Western energy independence

U.S. and Europe source 20% of enriched uranium from Russia

19 July 2022
Imports of Russian palladium have plunged as more companies look for other suppliers.
Ukraine war

Battery makers seek price hikes on lack of Russia rare metals

Ukraine war disruption pushes lithium, titanium, palladium to new highs

18 July 2022
Hirochika Naganawa, chief technology officer at Japanese startup Emulsion Flow Technologies, previously worked for Japan's atomic energy agency. (Photo courtesy of Emulsion Flow Technologies)
Startups

EV batteries: Recycling startup extracts cobalt, nickel 100 times faster

Japan's Emulsion Flow Technologies aims to begin commercial operations next year

15 July 2022
Intel flagged future "targeted" price rises when it presented its last quarterly earnings in April.
Semiconductors

Intel plans price hikes on broad range of products

Customers told move is a response to cost pressures

14 July 2022
Kawasaki Heavy's Suiso Frontier delivered the world's first cargo of liquefied hydrogen from Australia to Japan earlier this year. (Photo by Atsushi Ooka)
Energy

Quad members agree to promote hydrogen, ammonia fuel tech

Ukraine war underscores importance of clean energy security

14 July 2022
Contract chipmakers STMicroelectronics and GlobalFoundries have announced plans for a new plant in France to be built with assistance from the government. (Source photos by AP and Reuters) 
Semiconductors

STMicro, GlobalFoundries to build chip plant in France

'Multibillion euro' factory comes as EU races ahead of U.S. in offering aid

11 July 2022
Kubota's excavator: The Japanese company makes these machines at a plant in Osaka Prefecture. It plans to start making them in the U.S. by 2030. (Photo courtesy of Kubota) 
Supply Chain

Kubota to build excavator, tractor plants in U.S., India for $2.2bn

Japan equipment maker to lift local production amid supply chain snags

11 July 2022
Over 40% of business leaders responding to a recent Nikkei survey said they did not know how big of a role China will play in their operations over the next decade.
Supply Chain

Risky China business: Japan Inc. wary over Taiwan, zero-COVID

Survey reveals heightened concerns over exposure to geopolitical hazards

8 July 2022
Drivers line up for fuel at a gas station in Vientiane during mid-June. (Photo by Kosuke Inoue)
Supply Chain

Laos grabs for Russian lifeline as it fights fuel shortage

But cheap fuel risks steep foreign policy price for neutral Vientiane

7 July 2022
Global wheat prices have jumped 20% since the start of the year as the war in Ukraine cuts supply.
Supply Chain

Food nationalism: Export curbs hit nearly a fifth of global market

Countries hoard supplies as prices spike in wake of Ukraine war

7 July 2022
Work at Hyundai Motor factories in South Korea could come to a halt if the company's labor union decides to follow through on a threatened strike.
Transportation

The Hyundai Motor labor dispute: 5 things to know

Strike threat hangs over union demand for more pay, extension of retirement age

6 July 2022
An electronics store at a Chinese shopping mall. Foreign companies not going along with standards in the country would risk forfeiting the market.
Technology

China takes wider aim at foreign tech with national standards plan

Proposed regulation would reach deep into supply chains

6 July 2022
Japanese financial service provider MUFG will set up a new business that will buy physical inventory for clients, selling goods back to them as needed. (Source photos by Reuters and Nikkei)
Supply Chain

MUFG Bank to buy corporate inventory amid supply chain disruptions

New service aims to ease burden of companies carrying large stocks of goods

5 July 2022
Competition over lithium and other battery materials is expected to heat up as the market for electric vehicles grows.
Supply Chain

EV supply chain: Japan, China vie for power in lithium standards

Industry group including Toyota and Hitachi to join ISO meeting

1 July 2022
Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC says it spent around $1 billion in 2021, or around 1.7% of its revenue, on green initiatives. 
Semiconductors

TSMC struggles to keep new hires, warns of power supply risks

Taiwan chip titan spent $1bn on green initiatives last year, its own report shows

30 June 2022
The 45-year-old Unit 5 of JERA's Anegasaki Thermal Power Station resumes operations on June 30. (Photo by Sayumi Take)
Energy

Amid heat-wave power crunch, Japan brings back rusty gas plants

Unusual summer highlights energy vulnerabilities after Fukushima nuclear disaster

30 June 2022
Toyota Motor's output in Japan plunged 28% on the year in May. (Photo courtesy of Toyota)
Automobiles

Japan automakers' global output dropped again in May amid lockdowns

Little relief on horizon as supply chain turmoil drags on despite China reopening

30 June 2022
Samsung Electronics saw inventory grow 13% in the quarter to end-March from the preceding three months, while Ford Motor's stock increased by 21% over the same period. (Source photos Getty Images and AFP/Jiji) 
Supply Chain

Manufacturing inventory hits record $1.8tn worldwide

From Samsung to Ford, manufacturers face weak demand, supply chain disruptions

28 June 2022