Maybe We Could Build A Semiconductor Factory Somewhere In The USA So China

[DanieRains]

Doesn't control our country's manufacturing.

Ya think?

[underpants]

1. Takes lots of water

https://www.forbes.com/sites/emanuelabarbiroglio/2021/05/31/no-water-no-microchips-what-is-happening-in-taiwan/

[Sogo]

10. Then how can they be building a factory in AZ

as mentioned in #6 below? Not exactly an abundance of water in AZ....

[Amishman]

14. We have plenty of places with lots of water.

The east coast is plenty wet and getting wetter as climate change progresses.

Plenty of educated labor on the east coast too

[lagomorph777]

2. Yes; would be good for businesses who sell and buy chips.

The semiconductor industry is weird. Only a tiny percentage of chip brands are actually manufactured by the company whose log is on the chip. Hundreds of companies design chips; only a few (less than a dozen) actually fabricate them (other than some tiny specialty houses).

So American firms in the design/sell category would benefit from more on-shore fab capacity.

[SheltieLover]

3. "Buy Local" is always good.

👍

[sanatanadharma]

4. Like the Hyundai chip plant built in Eugene, Oregon?

In the last decade of the previous century, Eugene, Oregon and Lane County committed to tax breaks and infrastructure costs needed to lure Hyundai to building it's new generation chip plant. Among many who got got employment in the construction phase (my wife) or later operations (my later wife).

Everyone lost their jobs eventually and (for operations) too soon.

The city and county got an empty white elephant in the next decade. Building the buildings for building chips moved elsewhere and likely again.

I think too many people think they are too smart by half and believe they are really in control, riding the wave of uncontrolled capitalist dreams and just in time profit skimming.

[Captain Zero]

5. Remember Trump was gonna do that in Wisconsin!

Remember all his bullshit about having that one Chinese company locate one there ??

IT. NEVER. HAPPENED.
Trump couldn't get it done.

[Captain Zero]

7. FOXCONN if I recall correctly

It all fell through.

[Bristlecone]

8. He put the con in Foxconn

Along w Walker and Ryan.

[GoCubsGo]

6. They're building one in Arizona right now.

https://www.reuters.com/technology/tsmc-says-construction-has-started-arizona-chip-factory-2021-06-01/

[Effete Snob]

9. Who is "we"?

You and me? DU? The government?

Who is it that is going to sink billions into this kind of facility and the supply chain for it "so China doesn't control our country's manufacturing"?

And keep it running. And re-tool it each time there is a new lower bound on feature size on the chips. And, I guess, run it at a loss.

[Shanti Shanti Shanti]

11. WE outsourced chip manufacturing to Asia for cheap skilled labor! and their foundries to make them

[zipplewrath]

12. "global supply chain" wasn't

The last 10 years of my career, I was frustrated by the constant discussion of the "global supply chain" because it wasn't "global". It was the "Asian Pacific" supply chain. My industry had trouble working with that supply chain and therefore was always being castigated for our supply chain problems. Our "problem" was that we could work with 90% of the "supply chain" but that the 10% that dominated the "chain" was off limits to us. And it was silly because basically we'd work with a "supplier" with whom we were allowed to deal, and they were basically acting as a "middle man" with the countries with whom we could not work.

The pandemic has exposed the falsehood of the "global supply chain" and the reliance and resilience of it. We regularly saw small "interruptions" of the "chain", but could create work arounds for the short term. But it was always one major disaster away from collapsing. The whole concept of "just in time" was created in Japan when they were dealing with suppliers that were within 25 miles away. The concept of the "global supply chain" expanded that to the whole world without consideration of things like the Suez and other canals that were choke points, much less global pandemics.

We didn't need the TPP. We needed a NAFTA that recognized the needs of the environment and labor. We needed a pact that would ensure the continued flow of necessary products and materials. We need a "supply chain" that serves the interests of the people, not the manufactures.

[budkin]

13. It would "cost too much" for products

Corporations would be hurt

[Igel]

17. But mostly people would buy what's cheapest.

Yes, corporations would be hurt by people who don't want to pay a kind of self-imposed nationalism tax. Their products would be too expensive and they'd go bankrupt.

Bought a food processor maybe 6 years ago. Had a choice. Could buy a decently rated model that more than met my needs for a given price. Could buy a slightly better rated model for 40% more that actually didn't meet my needs quite so well. I went with the more expensive model, chucking in an extra $90, because it was French-made and not Chinese-made. (No American-made models on the market.)

Most wouldn't do that, but I was annoyed at China for some reason and less annoyed at France. And put my money where my mouth was.

You willing to have tariffs in place to make the more expensive nationally-made products be the same price? Very Trumpian. Or are you willing to pay a higher price for goods of comparable quality? "Yeah, could buy that washer for $450, but it's made in China. So I'll go for the equivalent one at $550."


Would say we could just have the government subsidize it, but there are a lot of trade agreements (like the WTO) that make those things illegal under provisions enacted by a democratically elected legislature.

[csziggy]

15. Micron has at least three manufacturing locations in the US

Boise, Idaho, USA
Lehi, Utah, USA
Manassas, Virginia, USA
https://www.micron.com/about/our-company/corporate-profile

Here is an expanded list of all USA locations:

Allen
Austin
Boise
Folsom
Irvine
Lehi
Longmont
Manassas
Meridian
Minneapolis
San Diego
San Jose
Seattle
https://www.micron.com/about/locations

[haele]

16. Semi-conductor factories used to be in TX, AZ and Mexico.

Part of the Maquilladora system that was popular in the '70's through early 90's. Bell labs, Intel...
Good paying skilled labor jobs, too, on both sides of the border, and the products were fairly reliable quality.
American manufacturing made up for higher priced labor with the cheaper and quicker supply chain rather than going to Japan or Germany for higher quality electronic components.

Then China and Vietnam started subsidizing undercutting labor and other overhead prices and those US businesses flocked to the Far East - because as the old saying goes, when desiring a product that is inexpensive, available in a timely fashion, and of high quality, one can only have two out of the three. And selling more product over several years is far more profitable than selling a quality product with a long use cycle in most purchase situations.
Unless the product one is selling is marketed to a high-end clientele that views their purchases as "art" or "status collectables" that imply a certain quality of components.

Haele

[sir pball]

18. GlobalFoundries has multiple US fabrication plants

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GlobalFoundries