THE TECH CHIP MANUFACTURING DILEMMA

Written by founder Kelly Stickel, looking at the future of business and work

A decade ago, the US market manufactured 37% of the world's semiconductors. Today we are responsible for 12% from just one company, Intel. Even Intel gets its chips with the tiniest transistors from TSMC in Taiwan, a half-trillion dollar Juggernaut. They call them "The Silicon Shield" and TSMC has customers like Apple, Amazon, and our military.  It sure makes me think.

Did you know that the Ford F150 is the number one product sold in America? Recently, they announced the launch of their electric truck, while the manufacturing is halting. TSMC had to stop making these automobile chips, to focus on another product.

A TSMC executive noted that the short-term US supply chain will catch up, but that the US has not made the long-term investment in students and or future generations to compete, and instead have outsourced the development to other countries. Check out the 60-Minutes segment on semiconductor companies and this discussion.

Since gathering information to research this topic, Intel has made a 4-year commitment to be the best chip manufacturer in the world. It is good to see that a fire has been lit. Watch China’s new Silk Road. Their goal is to be the number one car manufacturer in the world, and to redesign the world maps to work in favor of China. 

We will continue to watch what happens in the tech chip industry. In the meantime, investing in junk yards, used car lots, and computer shops might be a good idea. It is imperative that US-based companies developing innovative products and services need to make real investments in research and development beyond their first successful products and services in order to stay competitive in the global economy.

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