Can Earthquake in Myanmar disrupt PC hardware production? Manufacturers are checking out

SMIC
(Image credit: SMIC)

A 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar on Friday, March 28, shaking neighboring countries including Thailand, China and Vietnam — and came close to shaking up the technology industry.

Thailand and Vietnam are major production sites for companies like Intel, Seagate, and Western Digital. So far, these companies have not reported on damages and supply disruptions in their chains (at least, there are no appropriate filings with the SEC), but Taiwanese companies with manufacturing capacities in Thailand are indeed checking whether their capacities were disrupted and halting plants if they were, according to China Times.

Taiwanese tech companies — including manufacturers of servers, consumer electronics, PCBs, and even satellite components such as Chicony, Delta Electronics, Zhen Ding Tech, and Inventec — responded swiftly to the Myanmar earthquake. Most operate factories in Thailand and, despite strong tremors, reported no injuries or major damage.

Anton Shilov
Contributing Writer

Anton Shilov is a contributing writer at Tom’s Hardware. Over the past couple of decades, he has covered everything from CPUs and GPUs to supercomputers and from modern process technologies and latest fab tools to high-tech industry trends.

  • bit_user
    It's a little surprising how much of the electronic supply chain is historically rooted in the Ring of Fire. We regularly hear about earthquakes in Taiwan and Japan.

    Reply
  • Notton
    cheap labor + established workers are already skilled and trained + ease of access (shipping ports) + all necessary parts are made in the same region (established supply chain) = it doesn't make financial sense to move it elsewhere.
    Reply
  • passivecool
    I find it disturbing that maybe tens of thousands of people have died, and the issue here is whether one has to wait maybe a week or two longer or pay a doller or two more to get that shiny new component (so that mission-critical game will run 3 fps better). Other portals are organizing donations...
    One death is a tragedy, one thousand is a statistic. gotcha.
    Reply
  • bit_user
    passivecool said:
    I find it disturbing that maybe tens of thousands of people have died, and the issue here is whether one has to wait maybe a week or two longer or pay a doller or two more to get that shiny new component (so that mission-critical game will run 3 fps better). Other portals are organizing donations...
    One death is a tragedy, one thousand is a statistic. gotcha.
    It happened in the midst of an active civil war that's been dragging on for several years. So, there's also that. From what I've heard, the epicenter was mostly in rebel-controlled territory and the government has restricted aid from reaching it, on previous occasions. The fact that government forces have continued areal bombing suggests this time will be no different. Therefore, I'd be careful about exactly who I'm donating to and how the money will be used. I think the Red Cross is pretty trust-worthy, as they make a point never to take sides.
    Reply
  • drivinfast247
    passivecool said:
    I find it disturbing that maybe tens of thousands of people have died, and the issue here is whether one has to wait maybe a week or two longer or pay a doller or two more to get that shiny new component (so that mission-critical game will run 3 fps better). Other portals are organizing donations...
    One death is a tragedy, one thousand is a statistic. gotcha.
    It's a tech forum. If you want to cry and mourn, go to Twitter.
    Reply