The earthquakes that occurred in Japan during the New Year They not only caused destruction and human loss, but also an adverse effect on the technology industry. Toshiba and others chip manufacturers have closed their factories to carry out a thorough review of the facilities. Most of them have not confirmed whether they will resume operations in the coming days.
An investigation of TrendForce details the effects of the 7.6 magnitude earthquake that hit the Noto peninsula last January 1st. Until now, the death toll is 73 and there are more than 300 injured people. Dozens of houses and buildings in Ishikawa, Wajima, Shiromaru and Toyama prefectures collapsed or were damaged by fires and floods.
In the region there are foundries of companies such as GlobalWafers, Shin Etsu and Taiyo Yuden, as well as Toshiba’s NAND memory factory. Most of the facilities are located in areas with seismic intensities of level 4 to 5, so it was necessary to delay the start of operations to carry out a thorough inspection.
Toshiba issued a statement in which informs that its Ishikawa factories will remain closed until further notice. “Our first concern is the safety of our employees and their families, and beyond this, the well-being of the local community in the affected area,” the company said. “We are also assessing damage to our production facilities and will provide updates as soon as they are available.”
The manufacturer confirmed that most employees are safe, while others were on vacation or have not been contacted. Toshiba mentioned that currently They analyze damage to infrastructure and production linesso they will wait to make a decision.
The earthquake in Japan would cause price increases in flash memories
In accordance with TrendForcepreliminary inspections showed that no there is significant damage to the machinery. At some semiconductor plants, the facilities were designed to withstand magnitude 7 earthquakes, so they did not close their doors. The report adds that the slowdown in the semiconductor industry and the low season would help reduce the impact.
The only point against it is that The pause will affect the NAND memory market, who could experience a price increase. In September, Samsung announced it would reduce production by up to 50% to combat low demand. Experts anticipate that this measure will have adverse effects on consumers’ pockets in the coming months.
Toshiba confirmed that it will provide an update on its investigation on January 5, in which it will announce whether operations will resume or the pause will be extended.