[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Amid the global suffering caused by the semiconductor supply shortage, Peter Wennink, CEO of Dutch semiconductor equipment company ASML, expressed the seriousness of the situation, revealing that some are even buying washing machines to dismantle the components inside in order to secure semiconductors.
According to Bloomberg on the 20th (local time), CEO Wennink stated during the Q1 earnings announcement that a major company in a key industry experienced semiconductor supply difficulties last week and resorted to such measures. Although he did not disclose the company name, his remarks were made to emphasize how severe the situation is in certain sectors, indicating that the difficulties are expected to persist for the time being.
CEO Wennink said, "The demand we are currently seeing is occurring across many industrial sectors. The range of these sectors is very broad," adding, "We underestimated the breadth of this demand. I believe the semiconductor shortage will not disappear anytime soon." In fact, according to Susquehanna Financial's survey, the semiconductor lead time (the time from order to final delivery) last month reached a record high of 26.6 weeks. The semiconductor supply shortage has been further exacerbated by the impact of China's COVID-19 lockdown measures and the earthquake in Japan.
ASML, led by CEO Wennink, is the only semiconductor manufacturing equipment company worldwide that supplies EUV (Extreme Ultraviolet) lithography equipment, which is essential for advanced semiconductor processes. Global semiconductor companies such as Samsung Electronics, TSMC, and Intel are competing to secure this equipment, making ASML a 'super supplier.' Since the demand for manufacturing equipment moves in line with the semiconductor supply situation, his remarks appear to emphasize that the supply shortage will continue for the foreseeable future.
Bloomberg reported that automobile manufacturers have been unable to overcome the semiconductor crisis for over a year, citing recent announcements from Tesla, Volkswagen, and Toyota Motor Corporation about production disruptions due to semiconductor supply shortages. Although consumer electronics demand, which experienced a pent-up effect during COVID-19, has weakened, the shortage of raw materials like silicon and equipment for semiconductors has not yet been resolved.
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