According to Nikkei, TSMC’s chairman Dr. Mark Liu said in an interview recently that the company plans to start mass production at its Arizona plant in the first quarter of 2024, but the specific products it will produce have not yet been determined.
The report pointed out that TSMC has been a long-term partner of Apple's A-series chipsets for iPhone and iPad devices. However, apart from Mac Pro, Apple does not organize production in the United States, so it is unclear whether TSMC’s Arizona plant will produce Apple’s chips, or whether it will produce chips for important industries in the United States, such as automotive chips.
Dr. Mark Liu also detailed some other expansion projects that TSMC is considering. For example, it is conducting due diligence to determine whether it should build a factory in Japan. The company also stated that it will spend US$2.8 billion to expand its production scale in China.
Regarding the shortage of global foundry capacity, Dr. Mark Liu said that the current shortage of semiconductors comes from uncertainties in the supply chain, including the new crown epidemic and political factors, as well as the rapid development of 5G and high-speed computing applications. He said that for now, at least the tight capacity supply will continue until 2022.
