[Taiwan Chip News] TSMC's New U.S. Plant Production Already Fully Booked

TSMC's New U.S. Plants Already Fully Booked
Major Clients Like Apple and Nvidia Secure Early Orders
Arizona to Become Hub for Advanced Process Production

Due to the U.S. government's policy to strengthen domestic semiconductor manufacturing, demand from global clients for TSMC's new U.S. plants has surged. Industry sources report that even for the three new plants scheduled to begin operations in the future, production capacity (CAPA) is already fully booked with orders.

According to local media such as Taiwan Economic Daily News on May 19, recent reports of rapidly stabilizing production yields at TSMC's U.S. plants have led to a sharp increase in additional orders from clients. An industry insider stated, "Major U.S. clients such as Apple, Nvidia, AMD, Qualcomm, and Broadcom are reinforcing dual production strategies to hedge against geopolitical risks," and added, "TSMC's expanded investment in its Arizona campus is being positively received as a means to secure a stable supply chain."

As demand for TSMC's U.S. production capacity continues to rise, it is reported that major clients have already secured volumes not only for the early construction of the third plant but also for the three additional plants planned for future expansion.

A source in Taiwan's securities industry predicted, "TSMC will operate about 20% of its total production capacity overseas by 2028 through the sequential operation of plants in Japan, the United States, and Germany," and noted, "Depending on the pace at which each country disburses subsidies, this proportion could increase further." In particular, for advanced processes below 2nm (1nm = one-billionth of a meter), it is forecasted that by 2030, the production ratio between Taiwan and the United States will be around 7 to 3.

In March, TSMC announced plans to further expand its U.S. investment by more than $100 billion (approximately 146 trillion won). At that time, U.S. President Donald Trump invited TSMC Chairman Mark Liu to the White House to personally announce the new investment plan. The details included building three semiconductor plants, two advanced packaging (back-end process) plants, and one research and development (R&D) center.

After announcing a $12 billion U.S. investment in 2020, TSMC has since increased the scale to $65 billion (about 95 trillion won). The company is already operating or constructing three semiconductor plants in Arizona. Once the new investment-driven construction is complete, TSMC will have at least six production plants established in the United States. The accumulated $165 billion investment is equivalent to TSMC's total revenue over the past two to three years.

The expansion of TSMC's influence is expected to put even greater pressure on foundry competitors, including Samsung Electronics. During last month's earnings conference call, Chairman Mark Liu stated, "About 30% of our sub-2nm advanced process production capacity in the U.S. will be handled at the Arizona plant," and added, "We will respond to the demand from major clients such as Apple, Nvidia, AMD, Qualcomm, and Broadcom."

Taiwan Economic Daily News = Reporter Yoon Hyejung / Translation = Asia Economy

*This column is published as part of a strategic partnership between Asia Economy and Taiwan Economic Daily News.