KoreaTechToday - Korea's Leading Tech and Startup Media Platform
  • Topics
    • Naver
    • Kakao
    • Nexon
    • Netmarble
    • NCsoft
    • Samsung
    • Hyundai
    • SKT
    • LG
    • KT
    • Retail
    • Startup
    • Blockchain
    • government
  • Lists
KoreaTechToday - Korea's Leading Tech and Startup Media Platform
  • Topics
    • Naver
    • Kakao
    • Nexon
    • Netmarble
    • NCsoft
    • Samsung
    • Hyundai
    • SKT
    • LG
    • KT
    • Retail
    • Startup
    • Blockchain
    • government
  • Lists
KoreaTechToday - Korea's Leading Tech and Startup Media Platform
No Result
View All Result
Home Chips

Samsung Shuts Down Texas Semiconductor Plant Due to Winter Storms

James Jung by James Jung
PUBLISHED: February 18, 2021 UPDATED: February 20, 2021
in Chips, Manufacturing, Samsung
0
Samsung promptly suspends chip production in Austin chip plants following heavy Texas winter storms, affecting ongoing global semiconductor shortage.
Samsung promptly suspends chip production in Austin chip plants following heavy Texas winter storms, affecting ongoing global semiconductor shortage.

Samsung promptly suspends chip production in Austin chip plants following heavy Texas winter storms, affecting ongoing global semiconductor shortage.

Samsung Electronics Co. has temporarily shut down its semiconductor plant operations in Austin, Texas. Amid the heavy Texas winter storms, electricity provider Austin Energy has shut off power to the city’s most prominent industrial users. As the record-breaking Texas winter temperature continues, Samsung Electronics promptly suspends chip production to aid in reducing the strain on Austin’s electricity grid.

“With prior notice, appropriate measures have safely been taken for the facilities and wafers in production,” said Michele Glaze, a Samsung spokesperson. “We will resume production as soon as power is restored. We are discussing timing with the proper authorities.” According to Glaze, Samsung gradually stopped its manufacturing process after receiving the order from Austin Energy.

Through the notice, Samsung Electronics was able to take safety measures to minimize damages to thousands of silicon wafers. Authorities remain uncertain when the power supply would be back to normal. Based on US reports, the freezing Texas winter temperatures caused power outages that left around 200,000 Austin households without electricity.

In the Austin plants, Samsung manufactures processors such as DRAMs, NANDs, and smartphone SoCs, providing for customers, including Intel. Due to the increasing demand from its American customers, the South Korean chipmaker plans to conduct a 38.7 trillion won (USD 1.7 billion)-expansion for the Austin chip facilities. The two Samsung semiconductor plants in Austin constitute around 28% of the company’s overall production capacity. Following the power shutdown, Samsung and other chip manufacturers could experience considerable production losses, damages, and supply disruptions. In 2018, a 30-minute power interruption caused damages to thousands of wafers at a Samsung facility in South Korea.

Global Semiconductor Shortage

Aside from Samsung Electronics, some of the affected large-scale business facilities include NXP Semiconductors and Infineon Semiconductors. Moreover, analysts say that the Texas chip production suspensions could negatively impact the global semiconductor shortage. “The worldwide chip supply is already very constrained, and what Samsung is encountering in Austin would add fuel on the fire for the short term,” said Liu Pei-Chen, a Taiwan Institute of Economic Research analyst. 

However, Liu stated that Asia houses most of the world’s semiconductor-manufacturing capacity, with Samsung producing 10% and Taiwan producing 70%. As the shortage continues, worldwide smartphone, automotive, and other electronic production has slowed and is struggling with boosting low outputs.

Check put other must-read articles from KoreaTechToday:

  • Samsung to Inject 8.5 Trillion Won in NAND Chip Line at Pyeongtaek Fab
  • Samsung Electronics Ships and Mass Produces World’s First EUV DRAM
  • SK hynix Sign $9 Billion Deal to Purchase Intel’s NAND Memory Business
  • SK hynix Launches First High-Speed 16Gb DDR5 DRAM
Tags: Austin Energychip productionDRAMNSamsungsemiconductor plantTexas

Related Posts

Inside Stargate: How Samsung and SK Are Powering OpenAI’s Global AI Ambitions
Samsung promptly suspends chip production in Austin chip plants following heavy Texas winter storms, affecting ongoing global semiconductor shortage.
AI

Inside Stargate: How Samsung and SK Are Powering OpenAI’s Global AI Ambitions

October 7, 2025
Samsung Launches TRUEBench: A Benchmark for Real-World AI Productivity
Samsung promptly suspends chip production in Austin chip plants following heavy Texas winter storms, affecting ongoing global semiconductor shortage.
AI

Samsung Launches TRUEBench: A Benchmark for Real-World AI Productivity

September 29, 2025
Samsung AI Forum 2025: Could its AI Agents Change How We Interact with Technology?
Samsung promptly suspends chip production in Austin chip plants following heavy Texas winter storms, affecting ongoing global semiconductor shortage.
AI

Samsung AI Forum 2025: Could its AI Agents Change How We Interact with Technology?

September 25, 2025
Samsung SDS Unveils Full-Stack AI Strategy to Drive Enterprise Transformation
Samsung promptly suspends chip production in Austin chip plants following heavy Texas winter storms, affecting ongoing global semiconductor shortage.
AI

Samsung SDS Unveils Full-Stack AI Strategy to Drive Enterprise Transformation

September 24, 2025
Caught Between Giants: How U.S. Export Controls Reshape South Korea’s Semiconductor Strategy
Samsung promptly suspends chip production in Austin chip plants following heavy Texas winter storms, affecting ongoing global semiconductor shortage.
Samsung

Caught Between Giants: How U.S. Export Controls Reshape South Korea’s Semiconductor Strategy

September 1, 2025
Samsung and SK Hynix Face New U.S. Licensing Rules for Chinese Chip Plants
Samsung promptly suspends chip production in Austin chip plants following heavy Texas winter storms, affecting ongoing global semiconductor shortage.
China

Samsung and SK Hynix Face New U.S. Licensing Rules for Chinese Chip Plants

August 31, 2025
No Result
View All Result

Most Popular

  • Ride-Hailing Rivalry: Kakao and Uber Bet on Membership Services in Korea

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Kakao Mobility Faces $10.5 Million Fine for Limiting Competitors’ Access to Taxi Platform

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Korea’s Navigation Battle Heats Up: Naver and Kakao vs. Google maps

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • 5 Best Korean to English Translation Apps

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Naver Launches 3D Street View for Immersive Navigation Experience

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • KakaoTalk to Adopt Instagram-Style Feed in Major 2025 Redesign

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Naver Maps Launches Guide in English, Chinese, and Japanese to Enhance Travel Experience for Tourists

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Top Nine Mobile MMORPG in South Korea for 2020

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Naver Unveils Asia’s Largest Data Center, GAK Sejong, for Tech Innovation

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • South Korea Invests $1.1B to Build National AI GPU Infrastructure

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

PRODUCTS

[ads_amazon]

TOPICS

  • Naver
  • Kakao
  • Nexon
  • Netmarble
  • NCsoft
  • Samsung
  • Hyundai

FREE NEWSLETTER

FOLLOW US

  • About Us
  • Cookie policy
  • home
  • homepage
  • mainhome
  • Our Services
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use

Copyright © 2024 KoreaTechToday | About Us | Terms of Use |Privacy Policy |Cookie Policy| Contact : [email protected] |

No Result
View All Result
  • Topics
    • Naver
    • Kakao
    • Nexon
    • Netmarble
    • NCsoft
    • Samsung
    • Hyundai
    • SKT
    • LG
    • KT
    • Retail
    • Startup
    • Blockchain
    • government
  • Lists

Copyright © 2024 KoreaTechToday | About Us | Terms of Use |Privacy Policy |Cookie Policy| Contact : [email protected] |