TOKYO (Reuters) – Toyota, Nissan, Honda and other Japanese carmakers clashed Monday to assess the impact of a fire at a Renesas Electronics automotive chip plant that could exacerbate shortages semiconductor world.
“We are gathering information and trying to see if this will affect us or not,” a Honda spokesman said. Other carmakers, including Toyota and Nissan, said they were also assessing the situation.
The effect on carmakers could extend beyond Japan to other car companies in Europe and the United States because Renesas has about 30% of the global share of microcontroller unit chips which are used in cars.
Renesas said it would take at least a month to restart production of a 300mm wafer line at the Naka plant in northeastern Japan after a power outage caused machinery to set fire on Friday and poured smoke into the sensitive clean room.
Two-thirds of the production of the affected line is automotive chips. The company also has a 200mm line of wafers at the Naka plant, which has not been affected.
Concern about the impact of the fire on production caused car stocks to fall, with the big three, Toyota, Honda and Nissan, closing more than 3.3%. Shares of Renesas fell to 5.5% and ended 4.9% less. The reference Topix index fell by about 1%.
“It will probably take more than a month to return to normal supply. With that in mind, even Toyota will have very unstable production in April and May, “said Seiji Sugiura, a senior analyst at the Tokai Tokyo Research Institute.” I think Honda, Nissan and other manufacturers will also face a difficult situation “.
Semiconductors such as those manufactured by Renesas are widely used in automobiles, including to monitor engine performance, control steering or automatic windows, and in sensors used in parking and entertainment systems.
Nissan and Honda had already been forced to cut production plans due to a shortage of chips due to growing demand from consumer electronics manufacturers and an unexpected rise in car sales due to a drop during the first months of the coronavirus pandemic.
Toyota, which ensured parts suppliers had enough stock of shavings, has been better so far.
“It could take three months or even half a year for a full recovery,” said Akira Minamikawa, an analyst at technology research company Omdia. “This has happened when chip stocks are low, so the impact will be significant,” he added.
GOVT PROMISES HELP
Renesas said its customers, who are mostly auto parts manufacturers rather than auto companies, will start seeing chip shipments drop in about a month. The company did not want to say which machine caught fire due to the electrical breakdown or which company caused it.
The Japanese government promised aid to the auto industry.
“We will try hard to help the Naka factory achieve a speedy restoration by helping it to quickly acquire alternative manufacturing equipment,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said on Monday.
The latest incident at the Naka facility comes after last month’s earthquake stopped production for three days and forced Renesas to further deplete chip stocks to keep up with orders.
The plant was closed for three months in 2011 after the deadly earthquake devastated the northeast coast of Japan.
Reports by Maki Shiraki, Eimi Yamamitsu and Noriyuki Hirata; Written by Tim Kelly; Edited by Muralikumar Anantharaman