Wednesday, March 30, 2011

TI: Japan Factories Recovering

Dallas-based Texas Instruments gave an update on the firm's Japanese factories late Tuesday, saying that it recovery at its Miho and Aizu manufacturing sites are "progressing well." TI said production at Miho will resume in mid-April, with full production in mid-July. Production at Aizu will hit full production in mid-April. Both factories had been shut down after the earthquake and tsunami in Japan two weeks ago, with TI initially reporting "substantial damage" at the Miho site. TI said recovery plans are still dependent on the power supply in the region, however, also said that it has moved around 80 percent of work in progress at Miho to alternatives sites in Dallas, Richardson, and Friesing, Germany. TI also reports it it still examining supplies of raw materials; semiconductors firms across the world have been following their supply chains to determine the impact of the loss of Japanese suppliers, who are involved in a significant number of little known, but key components in the semiconductor supply chain.