According to reports, a number of people familiar with the matter said today that in less than a year, TSMC has informed customers for the second time that it is ready to raise the price of chip OEM. TSMC cited imminent inflation, rising costs and TSMC's ongoing large-scale expansion plans to help alleviate the global chip supply shortage.
Six people familiar with the matter said that TSMC plans to make a "single digit increase" in both mature chip manufacturing technology and advanced manufacturing technology. The planned price increase will take effect in early 2023.
Two of the people familiar with the matter said that the prices of different process technologies increased by about 5% to 8%. "Advance notice is to give customers some cushion and prepare for price adjustment. This price increase is to cope with the increasing costs and capital needs of historic expansion," said a person familiar with the matter
Another executive said that given the slowing demand for products such as smartphones and PCs, it may be difficult for customers to fully accept the price increase in TSMC's plan. "Customers may accept advanced chips, but it may be difficult for customers to accept mature nodes," the executive said
Rising production costs are putting pressure on chip manufacturers, especially as demand for smartphones and PCs has slowed. TSMC said in March that all semiconductor companies were directly affected by the rise in the prices of parts and materials, which pushed up production costs.
In addition, the price increase also reflects the huge cost of TSMC's own expansion. In order to increase production capacity, TSMC will invest US $100 billion by 2023, with us $40 billion to US $44 billion this year alone.
This is the reason why TSMC once again informed its customers of the price increase in less than a year. In August last year, TSMC told its customers that it would raise the price by as much as 20% in the case of an unprecedented global shortage of chips, the largest increase in 10 years.
TSMC declined to comment on the price increase plan.