TSMC's Quarterly Demand for Chip Manufacturing Equipment Nearly Doubles This Year

Odaily Planet Daily News: TSMC (TSM.N) Co-Chief Operating Officer Hou Yongqing said today that as the company expands capacity to meet artificial intelligence demand, its demand for chip manufacturing equipment has nearly doubled since the end of last year. Hou stated that the company has raised its quarterly equipment procurement estimate to about 1.9 times the level forecast in December last year. This is the latest sign that strong demand from AI developers and the large-scale expansion of global data centers are further driving up chip demand.

TSMC is also currently facing a shortage of experienced construction workers, as the company attempts to build and equip about 20 factories in the Taiwan region of China and overseas—an expansion effort unprecedented in the company's history. In the past, TSMC usually advanced construction on four to five new plants simultaneously. Hou said: "We are currently catching up at about four to five times the pace of the past, but we still cannot meet demand." (Jin Shi)