Demand from the car sector has been strong, and foundry houses are stepping up efforts to rolling out more automotive chips. Apple's manufacturing partners are seeing COVID-induced disruptions to their production in Vietnam, and will have to move poduction of new-gen AirPods to China. And in China, construction of 5G base stations is slowing down this year.

Foundries gearing up for robust automotive IC demand: Taiwan-based pure-play foundries including TSMC, United Microelectronics (UMC), Vanguard International Semiconductor (VIS) and Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing (PSMC) are all gearing up for a boom in demand for automotive electronics by ramping up their output for related chips, according to industry sources.

New-gen AirPods assembly to move to China: Luxshare Precision Industry and Goertek, reportedly assemblers for the new-generation AirPods, have seen their factory sites in Vietnam affected by a resurgence of the COVID-19 outbreak locally and will have to fulfill orders for Apple's upcoming TWS earbuds at their plants in China, according to industry sources.

China 5G base station buildups lagging behind schedule: Taiwan-based optical component suppliers are likely to brace for lower-than-expected sales in the third quarter of 2021 due to the low order visibility for their 5G optical components from telecom supply chain in China, according to industry sources.

By DIGITIMES