2 charts show how much the world depends on Taiwan for semiconductors

• The global shortage of chips that forced several automakers to halt production has brought attention to Taiwan's outsized role in semiconductor manufacturing.
• Taiwan dominates the foundry market, or the outsourcing of semiconductor manufacturing.
• Much of that dominance comes down to TSMC, the world's largest foundry that counts major technology firms such as Apple, Qualcomm and Nvidia as its clients.

www.cnbc.com, Mar. 15, 2021 – 

Taiwan's outsized role in chipmaking has come under the spotlight as a global shortage of semiconductors forced several automakers to halt production.

Countries including the U.S. and Germany reached out to Taiwan to help alleviate bottlenecks in the production of chips. The shortage was a result of increased demand for electronics during the Covid-19 pandemic, and was exacerbated by former President Donald Trump's trade war with China.

Taiwan dominates the foundry market, or the outsourcing of semiconductor manufacturing. Its contract manufacturers together accounted for more than 60% of total global foundry revenue last year, according to data by Taipei-based research firm TrendForce.

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