TSMC tells vendors to delay chip equipment deliveries

TOKYO/SINGAPORE/AMSTERDAM, Sept 15 - Taiwan's TSMC has told its major suppliers to delay the delivery of high-end chipmaking equipment, as the world's top contract chipmaker grows increasingly nervous about customer demand, two sources familiar with the matter said. The instruction by TSMC, which is grappling with delays at its $40 billion chip factory in Arizona, is aimed at controlling costs and reflects the company's growing caution about the outlook for demand, the sources said. Advertisement Scroll to continue Companies affected by the instruction to delay include ASML, which makes lithography equipment essential for high-end chipmaking, one of the sources said. ASM International, a smaller equipment firm that is also a supplier to TSMC, fell 5.6%, with BE Semiconductor, a packaging equipment firm, down 3.3%. Advertisement Scroll to continue Major U.S. semiconductor firms Applied Materials , KLA Corp and Lam Research were all down between 2.2% and 2.6% in premarket trading. TSMC has been forced to push back production at the Arizona plant by a year to 2025, as it struggled to recruit workers and faced pushback from unions on efforts to bring in workers from Taiwan. Apple, a key TSMC customer, launched a new series of iPhones this week that included a faster chip, but it did not raise prices, reflecting the global smartphone slump. TSMC used to make chips for Huawei but suspended supplies after Washington imposed sanctions on the Chinese firm.