A fire at a semiconductor factory in Japan, cold weather in North America and ongoing competition for chips are all hitting the global auto industry at the same time, threatening to exacerbate supply shortages of a key component that began late last year.
A clean room at a plant run by Renesas Electronics Corp., one of the top providers of automotive chips, was damaged by fire on Friday, the company said. The incident will probably have a big impact on the car industry, Chief Executive Officer Hidetoshi Shibata said during an online news conference Sunday.
Renesas slid as much as 5.4% Monday, while customers from Toyota Motor Corp. to Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co. also fell in early trading.