Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company CEO C. C. Wei blamed worsening traffic snarls for delays in expanding its base in southwest Japan, even while a parallel U.S. effort races ahead.
Wei reaffirmed TSMC’s commitment to spend another $100 billion to ramp up manufacturing in Arizona over the next half-decade, while saying a plan to build a second plant in Japan was experiencing slight delays. He stressed productive discussions with Donald Trump earlier this year, even after telling the U.S. president it will be "very, very difficult” for TSMC to complete the massive buildout in five years due to a shortage of skilled labor. Trump was "warm” during their exchange, Wei said.
The twin projects embody TSMC’s impetus to produce abroad as geopolitical tensions rise and demand grows for Nvidia chips essential for developing AI. TSMC has long operated mostly from its home turf of Taiwan but built a plant in Japan after securing a raft of commitments and incentives from Tokyo. It then announced plans to dramatically increase its U.S. investment days after Trump took office.
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