China Semiconductor Production Experienced its Largest-ever Decline in August
upstart writes:
China semiconductor production experienced its largest-ever decline in August:
The South China Morning Post reports that output of ICs was down 24.7% year-on-year to 24.7 billion units in August, the single largest monthly fall recorded since records began in 1997. Production volume was the lowest on record since October 2020.
This is the second month in a row that Chinese IC production has fallen; it was down 16.6% to 27.2 billion units in July. There had been a slight rebound in May and June, the result of lockdowns easing in Shanghai, where many assembly plants are located.
The SCMP writes that the decline can be attributed to new coronavirus outbreaks coupled with China's zero-Covid policy, as well as consumer spending cuts, power shortages caused by local heatwaves, and the global economic downturn. But a significant factor is likely to have been US sanctions.
[...] The Post notes that a record 3,470 companies in China, including those that use the Chinese word for "chip" in their registered names, brands, or operations, went out of business in the first eight months of the year. With the impact of the most recent US restrictions yet to be felt, there's likely more woe in store for the country's tech industry.
Read more of this story at SoylentNews.