CMC COVID-19 Impact Survey Shows Supply-Chain Strength
Pre-registrants for 2020 CMC Conference access COVID-19 Info
May 29, 2020: The Critical Materials Council (CMC) of semiconductor fabricators & suppliers is continuing to work to mitigate potential supply-chain disruptions by conducting surveys and holding virtual workshops. The May survey on COVID-19 impacts indicates that the global supply-chain for critical materials is strong, with two-thirds of suppliers reporting no disruptions. The CMC has now opened attendance at monthly COVID-19 Briefings and Virtual Workshops to pre-registrants for the 2020 CMC Conference, happening October 22-23 in Hillsboro, Oregon
Electronic materials supply companies from around the world responded to this latest CMC survey. About two-thirds of respondents report that they are not currently experiencing any problems with their supply-chains, which reassures fab customers that there should be no disruptions in shipments. However, about one-third (5 respondents) say that there are issues (Figure). Three respondents noted issues with sub-tier suppliers, while two have experienced problems with domestic logistics. TECHCET is tracking renewed interest in establishing parallel local supply-chains for critical materials in all global regions.
The survey shows that 60% of suppliers are increasing their own “safety stock” inventory levels of materials from sub-suppliers. Coincidentally, 60% of suppliers have also restricted all travel by employees, while 20% of suppliers are still traveling to support fab customers. As a strong indicator that the world is now soft-opening from COVID-19 lockdowns, 40% of suppliers now report that customers are visiting their sites, up from 0% in early May. Overall order volumes seem to be the same if not slighter higher than levels one year ago.
BRIEFINGS AND VIRTUAL WORKSHOPS
By pre-registering for the 2020 CMC Conference now, you can attend the next interactive COVID-19 Virtual Workshop on June 24th. These monthly meetings consolidate what is happening now in critical value-chains and provide forecast updates for strategic planning. Pre-registrants will also be able to access news and analysis at the CMC information website.
Daily and weekly analysis at this website on the impact of COVID-19 on semiconductor materials markets and supply-chains includes:
• TECHCET briefings and statistics,
• Global news relating to semiconductor materials,
• CMC Fab Members and Supplier Associate Member survey results, and
• Credible web resources for information on the growing pandemic.
2020 CMC Conference
Featuring a Keynote by Bruce Tufts, VP of Technology and Director of Fab Materials Organization, Intel Corp. on “Critical Materials Pushing the Limits for Semiconductor Manufacturing” the 5th annual CMC Conference will include more than 25 powerful presentations, the popular Materials Action™ roundtables featuring discussions and refreshments, and other networking opportunities.
