0
Home » Suppliers
DISASTER IN JAPAN
Key supplier to shift chip production from damaged plant
Hans Greimel
Automotive News -- April 8, 2011 - 6:51 am ET
Print Reprints Add a commentRecommend (3) >> Send us a Letter to the Editor
Thought Leadership
Manufacturers Turn to the Cloud, Cut IT Costs
Sponsored by
» Can You Avoid Costly Upgrades with Cloud ERP?
» The Power of Real-Time Manufacturing Data
» Ten Critical Questions to ask an ERP Vendor
» Free Analysts Report: Top ERP Solution Providers
» What You Need to Know About Cloud ERP
Follow Automotive News
•
•
•
•
•
•
TOKYO -- Renesas Electronics Corp., the world's biggest maker of automotive microcontrollers and a key bottleneck in Japan's parts shortage, plans to shift production of the chips from its last non-operational plant to undamaged factories in western Japan and Singapore.
Renesas expects to announce the timing of the shift next week, a person familiar with the plan said. The move will help alleviate a global shortfall of microcontroller supply -- but only partially.
Renesas' Naka plant in northeastern Japan, which accounts for about 25 percent of its global automotive microcontroller capacity, has been offline since the March 11 earthquake that devastated Japan's manufacturing sector. It is expected to be down at least until July.
Renesas plans to shift some of Naka's production to its Saijo plant in western Japan and another plant operated by an affiliate in Singapore. But that transfer will account for less than half of Naka's output, and it could be another two months before production starts up at those sites.
The manufacturing process for microcontrollers, or MCUs, can take up to two months, meaning that it could be another four months before those new sites are sending finished products to customers.
Anywhere from 30 to over 100 MCUs are used in a modern vehicle, and Renesas controls about 41 percent of the global market -- with 90 percent of its global capacity based in Japan.
The tiny chips are essential to everything from electronic parking brakes, pre-crash seat belts and engine control units to onboard entertainment systems, stability control and power steering.
Damage to plants in Japan has emerged as a key pinch point for global automakers. Tier 1 suppliers that rely on such chips as a sub-component can't supply carmakers without them.
Toyota is largest customer
Toyota is Renesas' biggest automotive end-user. It is estimated, for example, that 80 percent of the microcontrollers, or MCUs, in the Lexus LS460 come from the Japanese chipmaker.
Transfering production of MCUs can be costly and time consuming. It usually requires approval by the customer, who has to vet the quality and reliability of the new line. Developing new MCUs is also laborious, lasting up to one year from the design phase to the first shipment.
Renesas had eight Japanese factories damaged by the March 11 earthquake, including two that make microcontrollers for automotive use. Seven of them, including one of the auto-related chipmaking plants, the company's Tsugaru factory, have resumed limited output.
But in a sign of the challenges still facing Japanese manufacturers, four of those factories -- including Tsugaru -- were temporarily blacked out when a 7.1-magnitude aftershock struck the region on Thursday, knocking out power and reportedly killing two people. Electricity was soon restored, but Renesas was still assessing when it might restart production at those plants.
Read more: http://www.autonews.com/article/20110408/OEM10/110409902/1329#ixzz1J6wksazk
Et spørgsmål.
Hvorfor syntes du det var nødvendigt at oprette en ny tråd med et copy/paste indlæg, uden en eneste kommentar, når du lige nedenunder endda selv har oprettet flere indlæg om biler?
sent from iPhone
Hvorfor syntes du det var nødvendigt at oprette en ny tråd med et copy/paste indlæg, uden en eneste kommentar, når du lige nedenunder endda selv har oprettet flere indlæg om biler?
sent from iPhone
11/4 2011 08:56 le 041188 hvorfor spilder du din og andres tid med at komme med et så intetsigende indlæg
11/4 2011 09:26 runski 041193 Undskyld. Jeg glemte at du gerne vil ses, og gerne vil fylde det hele. Min fejl undskyld.
