Supply Chain

Executives from key Chinese tech companies such as Huawei are warning that prolonged lockdowns will hurt industry. (Source photos by AP, Reuters and screenshot from Xpeng YouTube page) 
Supply Chain

Huawei exec: Supply chains at risk if Shanghai lockdown persists

Tech and auto industries could face 'massive losses,' warns Richard Yu

15 April 2022
Chip titan TSMC is departing from its decadeslong strategy of centering most production at home in Taiwan and is now expanding its manufacturing footprint globally.
Semiconductors

TSMC grappling with 'unexpected' chip tool constraints, CEO says

Chipmaker logs record $7bn profit in Q1, forecasts record full-year revenue

14 April 2022
BizLink Chairman and co-founder Roger Liang: "I have never seen such a serious component supply crunch in my career."
Supply Chain

Cable maker BizLink expands globally to tap localization trend

Tesla and Dell supplier aims to cash in on booming EV and chip sectors

13 April 2022
Lexus vehicles come off the assembly line at a Toyota group plant in Fukuoka Prefecture. (Photo by Shinya Sawai)
Automobiles

Toyota plans 10% production cut in May on supply chain turmoil

Japanese automaker alerts suppliers amid COVID and Ukraine disruption

13 April 2022
Dozens of Apple and other suppliers have said they have suspended operations in and around Shanghai since April 2. (Source photos by Getty Images and Reuters)
Supply Chain

Shanghai, Kunshan lockdowns hit iPhone, Mac and iPad makers

Apple suppliers Pegatron, Quanta and Compal suspend factory activities

12 April 2022
Lee Pei-Ing, president of Taiwanese chipmaker Nanya Technology, said production at a new plant in New Taipei City will be delayed until at least 2025. (Photo by Keiichiro Asahara)
Semiconductors

Taiwan's Nanya Tech says $10bn chip plant delayed 'several quarters'

Production now slated for 2025 as labor and material shortages bite

11 April 2022
Workers take a break on a tract they'll transform into factories in Dong Nai, Vietnam, in April 2022. Supply chain snarls hitting their employer, An Phong, and other companies have slowed the economy's rebound. (Photo by Lien Hoang)
Supply Chain

Vietnam's factory operations hit as supply chain snags multiply

Manufacturing PMI dips as labor shortages and input costs weigh on recovery

11 April 2022
An 11-year-old boy carries a bag of cobalt on his back in southern Congo in July 2018: The risks of forced labor increase as you move deeper into the supply chain.
Opinion

Japan must embrace chance to make companies more responsible

European law offers a road map to a world where workers are valued and protected

11 April 2022
Dump trucks at a coal mine in Kemerovo, Russia. Japan says it will phase out coal imports from Russia.
Energy

Japan scrambles to find alternatives to Russian coal

Utilities as well as steel and paper makers hunt for other sources as costs rise

9 April 2022
Elon Musk at the opening ceremony for the Tesla factory for electric cars in Gruenheide, Germany, on March 22. (Source photo by Reuters)
Technology

Tesla opens Texas Gigafactory as China factory stays shut

Austin plant follows Berlin factory as EV maker works to increase deliveries by 50%

8 April 2022
China's BOE Technology Group looks to expand supplies of OLED panels for Apple's iPhones.
Electronics

Apple supplier BOE goes full throttle on OLED offensive

Chinese manufacture to ramp up shipments 70%, plans new facility

8 April 2022
The Port of Los Angeles. The new framework is designed to bolster U.S. economic ties in the Indo-Pacific but will not grant greater access to the American market.
Indo-Pacific

U.S. aims to launch new Indo-Pacific framework as early as May

Washington plans nontraditional economic pact to boost Asian presence

8 April 2022
Engineers working at a United Microelectronics Corp. facility in southern Taiwan in 2006. (File photo by AFP/Jiji)
Semiconductors

Chip industry's expansion plans at risk as equipment delays grow

TSMC, Samsung and others chase vital equipment as delivery times reach 18 months

7 April 2022
Workers at a Marelli factory in Japan's Gunma Prefecture. The auto parts supplier in March filed for what could become one of Japan's largest voluntary debt resolution procedures.
Automobiles

India's Motherson joins bidding to support Marelli restructuring

Conglomerate to partner with U.S. investment fund KKR ahead of next round

5 April 2022
By the pandemic year of 2020, China accounted for the bulk of exports of certain pharmaceutical raw materials. The country now plays an indispensable role in the supply chain for antibiotics and vitamins.
Pharmaceuticals

The great medicines migration: How China controls key drug supplies

Western powers aim to reverse the industry's West-to-East shift

5 April 2022
James Huang, chairman of the Taiwan External Trade Development Council, says a planned trip to the U.S. in October will "serve as soft-power diplomacy for Taiwan." (Photo by Lauly  Li) 
Supply Chain

Taiwan eyes closer U.S. tech ties, island's top trade body says

TAITRA chief lists EVs, metaverse among areas for cooperation

4 April 2022
Higher transport costs have driven up salmon sushi prices in Japan. 
Food & Beverage

Sushi sticker shock: Ukraine war drives up salmon prices in Japan

Shipment costs surge as planes detour to avoid Russian airspace

3 April 2022
Loaves of bread line the shelves at a supermarket in Tokyo. White bread cost 6% more at the register in February compared to three months earlier. (Photo by Hiroshi Endo)
Food & Beverage

Food inflation takes bigger bite in Japan, with bread leading way

Manufacturers overcome retailer resistance, carry out most planned price hikes

1 April 2022
Stream article image
Trade

U.S. and Japan to ask ASEAN to help avert next chip crisis

Biden seeks Indo-Pacific supply chain partnership to cut reliance on China

1 April 2022
Worries over inflation and disruptions to supply chains and demand in Europe due to the the Ukraine war are casting a pall over PC makers' previously bright sales growth numbers.
Technology

Ukraine war curtails pandemic's two-year PC boom

HP, Dell, Asustek cut component orders as industry battles 'one nightmare after another'

31 March 2022
Taiwan tech titan TSMC says demand for consumer electronics is starting to slow, especially in China.
Supply Chain

TSMC says demand for smartphones, PCs starting to slow

Rising costs could be passed on to consumers, chairman of tech titan warns

30 March 2022
Benjamin Loh, president and CEO of ASM International, says the current supply chain constraints are the worst he has seen in his career in the chip industry. (Photos courtesy of ASM International)
Interview

Chip tool maker warns of delays as semiconductor crunch bites

ASMI chief says supply constraints likely to last through 2022

30 March 2022
Freeways, bridges, and tunnels were blocked, and traffic restricted on March 28 as Shanghai kicked off a two-stage lockdown to deal with its worst COVID-19 outbreak. 
Coronavirus

China launches biggest COVID lockdown since start of pandemic

Financial hub Shanghai shuts offices, factories and freeways

28 March 2022
The war in Ukraine is causing supply chain turmoil and threatening demand for the consumer electronics industry. 
Supply Chain

Apple to cut iPhone, AirPods output amid Ukraine war uncertainty

Lower orders to suppliers are early sign of pressure on tech industry

28 March 2022
As the conflict in Ukraine rages, war insurance can give shippers some peace of mind as their freight travels via the China-Europe Railway Express.
Supply Chain

China opens wallet to keep trans-Eurasian express moving

Operators cover 'war insurance' and slash rates

28 March 2022