US car makers hit by Malaysian chip shortage

[superadmin]

KUALA LUMPUR: The number of Covid-19 infections in Malaysia is threatening to aggravate shortages of semiconductors and other components that have hammered automakers for months.

Malaysia has not historically had the kind of importance to technology supply chains that Taiwan, South Korea or Japan do. But in recent years, it emerged as a major centre for chip testing and packaging, with Infineon Technologies AG, NXP Semiconductors NV and STMicroelectronics NV among the key suppliers operating plants there.

Now Covid-19 infections are soaring in the country, jeopardising plans to lift lockdowns and restore full production capacity. The seven-day average for reported daily infections has pushed past 20,000, up from just over 5,000 in late June, although the number of reported infections dropped to 17,672 on Aug 23.

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