Two prominent Taiwanese companies that play key roles in the global electronics and semiconductor supply chains reported on Wednesday that the recent surge in hostilities in the Middle East has not yet affected their day-to-day operations, though both acknowledged ongoing uncertainty and potential points of vulnerability.
The broader conflict heightened after the United States and Israel carried out strikes on Iran, stoking market concerns about supply chains and commodity flows. Despite those developments, contract electronics manufacturer Pegatron - which supplies major technology customers including Apple, Microsoft and Tesla - said it had not experienced any major business disruptions to date.
Pegatron President and co-CEO Johnson Teng, speaking during an earnings call, said the company cannot predict how events will play out if Middle East oil shipments are interrupted. Teng noted that around 20 to 30 percent of global crude oil originates from the Middle East and warned that a cut in that supply could make it difficult to forecast effects on components and raw materials.
"It’s actually hard to say what will happen in the future, because roughly 20 to 30% of crude oil comes from the Middle East. The concern is that if this supply is cut off, then the situation for things like components and raw materials really can’t be accurately predicted," Teng said. He added that the company hopes comments from U.S. President Donald Trump that the conflict would end quickly prove accurate, and said any impact should ideally remain contained.
Separately, GlobalWafers, a major supplier of silicon wafers to semiconductor manufacturers including TSMC, reported that its shipments and operations have not been affected so far. The company said it had proactively altered its logistics plans months earlier to avoid shipping routes deemed higher risk.
A spokeswoman for GlobalWafers, Leah Yang, told the company’s earnings call that management has reviewed inventories of critical materials, notably helium, which is essential in certain semiconductor processes. Yang said helium production is concentrated in only a few countries, and that Qatar - a significant producer that has been subject to Iranian attacks - is among those suppliers of note.
"Based on existing inventory levels and confirmed supply, these materials are sufficient to support multiple years," Yang said, adding that GlobalWafers has established supply buffers and does not foresee near-term shortages.
The potential for disruption to supplies of specialized semiconductor inputs has also been raised elsewhere; a South Korean ruling party lawmaker said last week that the conflict could affect deliveries of key manufacturing materials such as helium.
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For now, both Pegatron and GlobalWafers report operations continuing without disruption, while flagging specific dependence on global oil flows and on concentrated sources of specialty gases as potential vulnerabilities to monitor as the situation in the Middle East evolves.