Operations at most of Sony's earthquake-damaged plants remained suspended as of March 17.
| Sony: Latest conditions about the impact of earthquake (as of March 17) | |||
| Internal units or subsidiary makers | Location | Product line | Latest condition |
| Sony Chemical and Information Device | Plant in Tagajyo City, Miyagi Prefecture | Magnetic tapes, Blu-ray Disc discs | Restoration is difficult in the short-term due to damage caused by the tsunami |
| Plant in Tome City, Nakada/Toyosato Sites, Miyagi Prefecture | Optical devices, IC cards | Power and water was increasingly supplied toward the original level, on the way to resume operation | |
| Plant in Kanuma City, Tochigi Prefecture | Anistropic conductive film (ACF) | Resumed production of some products on March 15, resumed operation of part of equipment on March 16, but still suffered insufficient supply of power and materials | |
| Sony Shiroishi Semiconductor | Miyagi Prefecture | Semiconductor laser pick-up devices | Buildings and equipment were slightly damaged, on the way to resume operation |
| Sony Energy Devices | Plant in Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture | Li-ion batteries | Buildings and equipment were slightly damaged, on the way to resuming operation; |
| Plant in Motomiya City, Fukushima Prefecture | |||
| Plant in Tochigi Prefecture |
| Has stopped production voluntarily | |
| Sony Manufacturing Systems | Plant in Kuki City, Saitama Prefecture | IC packaging/testing equipment | Has resumed normal operation |
| Sony DADC Japan | Plant in Ibaraki Prefecture | CD, DCD and other types of optical discs | Buildings and equipment were slightly damaged, on the way to resume operation |
| Sony Corporation Sendai Technology Center | Tagajyo City, Miyagi Prefecture |
| Has stopped operations due to earthquake |
| Sony Corporation Atsugi Technology Center | Atsugi City, Kanagawa Prefecture |
| Has stopped operations voluntarily |
Source: Sony Taiwan, compiled by Digitimes, March 2011
Holy Stone
Passive component maker Holy Stone has announced that the tantalum capacitor plant of its Japan-based subsidiary Holy Stone Ploytech Company (HPC) located in the Fukushima prefecture will resume operations on March 22. The plant was temporarily shut down after the March 11 earthquake.
HTC
Taiwan-based smartphone vendor HTC's supply chain has not been influenced by the earthquake in Japan, and March-April shipments are on schedule, according to company CEO Peter Chou speaking at the Taiwan, Technology and Beyond conference in Taipei on March 16.
MediaTek
IC design house MediaTek on March 15 said that the recent earthquake offshore of Japan will not affect the company's operations. MediaTek indicated that its handset chipsets are mostly shipped to white-box manufacturers in China with end-use devices powered by its chipsets targeted at emerging markets. As for brand vendor clients, MediaTek supplies medium-to-low-end solutions to LG Electronics and Motorola, which mainly manufacture in China, Taiwan and Southeast Asia, with end-use devices also aimed at emerging countries. Though some industry observers are concerned about shipments to Sharp, the Japan-based vendor outsources via the ODM model and handsets are made in China and will not be distributed in Japan.
TSMC
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company's (TSMC) target of 20% growth in 2011 sales remains unchanged, chairman and CEO Morris Chang said on March 16. TSMC expects no material impact from the recent earthquake in Japan on its 2011 sales. TSMC is unlikely to face possible wafer supply disruptions, because the company has more than four suppliers, Chang indicated. However, Chang pointed out, the company is unsure whether the event will affect its expansion plans for 2012. Deliveries from its equipment suppliers in Japan may be disrupted by stoppages in their production and the damage to Japan's infrastructure.
UMC
United Microelectronics Corporation's (UMC) Japan subsidiary UMCJ, an 8-inch fab, is located in Tateyama City, Chiba Prefecture, where the earthquake on March 11 recorded 5.0 in magnitude. All UMCJ employees were evacuated and nobody was injured. UMCJ's equipment, accounting for 3-5% of UMC's total foundry capacity, was not damaged and is in the process of calibration for resuming operation. Thus, the earthquake has not substantially brought any financial or operational impact on UMC.
