Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company ( TSMC), the world's leading manufacturer of contract chipsets, was recently rumored to have raised its prices by 15 percent due to ongoing chip shortages.
However, the first quarter of the year is drawing to a close and the company has yet to raise prices. But in the new report United News claims TSMC could raise the price of its 12-inch platters by $ 400.
This could lead to a price increase of 25 percent, which would be an all-time high. It is noteworthy that the company has moved to 5nm process nodes for chipsets, making them more powerful and energy efficient.
The Taiwanese company is expected to start shipping 3nm chips in the second half of next year. The next generation process node is predicted to provide 25-30% more power and 10-15% more performance at the same power levels.
Due to high demand for microcircuits and low supply, TSMC refused to offer discounts to its customers. But the company faces other situations that are beyond its control, which increases its costs.
Lack of rain has led to severe water shortages, and the city where TSMC is based received only half the amount of rain in 2020 compared to the previous year. This forced the company to place water tanks at its facilities.
If TSMC decides to raise wafer prices by 25 percent and cancel previously agreed deals with companies, smartphone makers could end up spending more money than budgeted, and those costs could be passed on to customers.
