Cold wave in the United States, drought in Taiwan and now a fire in a factory in northern Japan. In recent weeks, the elements seem to be raging against the world’s major semiconductor manufacturers who are no longer able to supply components to automakers and major electronics brands.
Japanese group Renesas Electronics, the world’s third largest producer of chips on Sunday for the automotive industry, announced that part of its factory in Ibaraki prefecture, northeast of Tokyo, had been partially damaged by fire. “I fear that this will have a very big impact”, admitted at a press conference, Hidetoshi Shibata, the CEO of the company, before indicating that he hoped for a return to normal within a month. .