New Lockdown Fears Memory Chip Manufacturing

Two of the largest manufacturers of memory chips are now warning of a new shortage in production: Samsung and Micron fear the new lockdown in the Chinese province of Xian that the production plans will be completely mixed up.

This could affect the entire technology industry again: According to a report by Reuters, both Samsung Electronics and Micron Technology, two of the world’s largest manufacturers of memory chips, have now warned that the strict COVID-19 locks in the Chinese city of Xian will have a major impact on their chip manufacturing facilities in the region.

The lockdown of the city of Xian will put further pressure on the global supply chains. In addition to the sharp rise in freight costs and soaring prices for raw materials, this is another major problem for chip production. The restrictions could cause delays in shipments of DRAM memory chips, which are widely used in data centers, according to the new report, Micron said. Due to the new lockdown, Micron has only a few workers available, which leads to further difficulties in day-to-day operations.

Conflicting information from Samsung

Samsung Electronics also shared a similar assessment. The company temporarily had to make major adjustments to the production of NAND flash memory chips, which are used for data storage in data centers, smartphones, and other technical devices.

In contrast, Chinese media report that Samsung’s semiconductor plant in Xian can currently still operate normally. In addition, the Reuters report said that the chips produced in Samsung’s NAND factory in Xian are mainly shipped to China and only to a limited extent overseas. Some of the biggest demands for the type of chips the factory makes are from Chinese server companies, they added. Samsung should also be able to supply buyers at short notice without any problems thanks to a relatively high inventory. How long you can hold out is not known.