Supply Chain

Garment workers in Ho Chi Minh City. Coronavirus-related layoffs and travel curbs last summer left many migrants stuck in the city for months without income.
Supply Chain

Ho Chi Minh City's labor woes threaten global supply chains

Vietnam's industrial south seen short 100,000 workers due to COVID

1 February 2022
Apple prioritized production of its new iPhone 13 range by reallocating shared components from iPad and older-generation iPhones. (Photo courtesy of Apple)
Technology

Apple sets revenue record despite $6bn-plus supply chain woes

Sales jump 21% in greater China, dip 14% in Japan

28 January 2022
Passengers wait to board a train at the Hankow Railway Station in Wuhan, China, ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, normally the busiest travel time in the country. 
Supply Chain

China, Vietnam urge workers to hunker down over Lunar New Year

COVID travel curbs and labor shortages could hit critical tech supply chains

24 January 2022
Foxconn Chairman Young Liu attends the Taiwanese company's year-end festival on Jan. 23. The event was held online due to COVID-19 concerns. 
Supply Chain

Foxconn chairman predicts exceptional Q1 but challenging 2022

Young Liu says EVs and metaverse will bring opportunities 'not seen for decades'

23 January 2022
A rendering of two planned Intel chip fabrication factories, or fabs, in Licking County, Ohio. (Photo courtesy of Intel)
Semiconductors

Intel plans $20bn 'megasite' in Ohio in chip race with TSMC

1,000-acre plot has potential for 8 factories, CEO Gelsinger says

22 January 2022
Toyota's Motomachi plant in Aichi Prefecture: The automaker will suspend operations at up to 21 production lines at 11 Japanese plants. (Photo courtesy of Toyota)
Automobiles

Toyota, Honda cut production in Japan amid omicron surge

Outbreaks and chip shortage hamstring automakers' push to meet targets

21 January 2022
A COSCO ships sails on the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Turkey in 2018. Staff at the Chinese shipping giant say salaries and bonuses have risen in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Caixin

Shippers pay bumper bonuses as supply chain chaos buoys profits

Staff at China, Taiwan shipping companies get windfall amid surging demand

20 January 2022
Containers are seen lined up at Pyeongtaek port in Pyeongtaek, South Korea. Authorities have levied fines for collusive pricing on 23 shipping companies. 
Transportation

South Korea cracks down on shipping cartel amid supply bottlenecks

Taiwan's Evergreen, Hong Kong's OOCL among those fined total $81m for price fixing

18 January 2022
Toyota will suspend vehicle production at its Miyata plant in Fukuoka Prefecture. (Photo by Shinya Sawai)
Automobiles

Toyota output to fall short of annual target of 9m vehicles

COVID-19 surge in Southeast Asia dents chip supplies, slowing rebound

18 January 2022
Compal Electronics is a major supplier to Dell and Amazon, among others. (Photo by Keiichiro Asahara)
Coronavirus

Dell, Amazon supplier halts Taiwan production amid omicron fear

Compal, Foxconn, Quanta, TSMC launch stricter preventative measures

18 January 2022
Japan is scrambling to shore up its supply of semiconductors. (Photo by Hideaki Ryugen)
Supply Chain

Chips and batteries: Japan to amp up supply chains with subsidies

Tokyo follows U.S. and EU, but program could violate WTO rules

17 January 2022
Japan is set to shoulder about half the cost of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.'s joint plant with Sony Group in Kumamoto Prefecture.
Semiconductors

Japan chip subsidy requires 10-year pledge from TSMC, others

Production commitment part of proposed rules for supporting new factories

12 January 2022
Tongtai Machine & Tool Chairman Yen Jui-hsiung: "There will be new demand, and the key is whether you are ready to catch it or not."
Interview

Taiwan machine tool maker sees EV boom as historic growth chance

Tongtai chairman says shorter supply chains are future of industry

11 January 2022
Murata Manufacturing President Norio Nakajima said in an interview that a new plant the company planned to open in Thailand would eventually become as large as the one in Wuxi, near Shanghai. (Photo by Atsushi Ooka) 
Supply Chain

Murata's Thailand move heralds Japan tech shift from China

Renesas, Tokyo Electron also race to respond to geopolitical tensions

10 January 2022
U.S. electric vehicle maker Rivian, which counts Amazon.com as its top shareholder, builds cars at a former Mitsubishi Motors factory. (Photo courtesy of Rivian Automotive)
Automobiles

Apple and other EV hopefuls chip away at auto industry pyramid

iPhone maker wooed Japanese A/C parts supplier for its car project

10 January 2022
McDonald's is once again rationing fries at its restaurants in Japan.
Food & Beverage

McDonald's Japan to limit fries to small size amid potato shortage

Sales restricted again with only small portions available for about a month

7 January 2022
China Molybdenum produces cobalt at this facility in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. (Photo courtesy of China Molybdenum)
Commodities

Chinese cobalt producer to double Congo output with eye on top spot

China Molybdenum to invest $2.5bn for sought-after battery material

7 January 2022
John Porcari, port envoy to the White House supply chain disruptions task force, speaks with reporters on Jan. 5. 
Supply Chain

White House: Supply strains are easing, but too early to celebrate

Omicron COVID variant and Lunar New Year seen as potential disruptors

6 January 2022
Daikin's cold-storage containers will use inverters to save on fuel consumption and carbon emissions. (Photo courtesy of Daikin)
5 January 2022
Editors and writers of Nikkei Asia's Big Story take a look back at some of their favorite pieces from 2021.
The Big Story

Coups, couriers and COVID: The Big Story 2021 Hall of Fame

From the Tokyo Olympics to Myanmar, a year through the eyes of Nikkei Asia's cover story writers

5 January 2022
Under CEO Rick Tsai, MediaTek has shed its "budget" image and forayed into the premium mobile chip market long dominated by Qualcomm. (Photo by Cheng Ting-Fang)
Semiconductors

Comeback kid: How Taiwan's MediaTek rose to mobile chip dominance

CEO has driven turnaround since taking reins over four years ago

4 January 2022
A lumber mill in British Columbia, Canada. Japan relies on imports for about half the wood used in home construction.
Commodities

Japan's commodity prices rise across broadest swath since 2013

Supply chain woes fuel increases in over 70% of key products this year

31 December 2021
Heavily dependent on North American potatoes, McDonald's Japan found itself in a pickle this November when flooding near the Port of Vancouver worsened supply chain disruptions wrought by COVID-19.
Food & Beverage

French-fry airlift gives McDonald's Japan a brief respite

Scramble for spuds continues with no end in sight to supply chain woes

31 December 2021
COVID-19 vaccines are unloaded from a Cathay Pacific cargo plane at Hong Kong International Airport.
Supply Chain

Cathay Pacific warns of 'dramatic' supply chain disruptions

Hong Kong airline forced to cancel flights after pilot quarantine rules tightened

29 December 2021
South Korea’s Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo speaks to Nikkei Asia. (Photo by Ahn Seong-bok)
Interview

South Korea says CPTPP membership would stabilize supply chains

Trade minister Yeo sees 'win-win' for all; will apply to join pact by May

27 December 2021