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AKM Fire Update: Co. Makes Progress, Interim Solution Shows Promise

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burned out AKM factory
[Click to enlarge] [Photo: nikogorio (Twitter)]

Commits to Deliver New DACs & ADCs in 2022!

In one of the most-read stories ever posted on Strata-gee.com, I reported on a fire in October 2020 at an AKM factory in Japan. AKM is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of large-scale integrated circuits (LSI) used in a variety of products, including digital-to-analog converters (DACs) and analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) for the audio industry. In that post, I warned you that this fire threatens to “disrupt the global supply of critical digital ICs.” It was the bright red flag of what was to become a massive supply chain headache that the world continues to struggle with to this day.

UPDATE: What’s happening now after the AKM fire

[Read more…] about AKM Fire Update: Co. Makes Progress, Interim Solution Shows Promise

Disaster Strikes Supply Chain Again – Another Chip Factory Destroyed by Fire

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Photo of fire damage at Renesas Naka factory in Japan

Once again, disaster strikes at the heart of the supply chain as reports are only now emerging about another factory destroyed in a major fire on March 19th that forced yet another semiconductor (chip) fabrication plant (fab) off-line. The fire took out the first floor of the Renesas Electronics factory in Hitachinaka, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan – just north of Tokyo, according to a report by the Nikkei.

See more on another factory destroyed by fire…

[Read more…] about Disaster Strikes Supply Chain Again – Another Chip Factory Destroyed by Fire

Let the Chips (Supply Chain) Fall Where They May

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An earthquake in Fukushima, Japan will cause further supply chain problems
Boulders dislodged by the quake blocked a road in Soma, a city in the Japanese prefecture of Fukushima, on Sunday morning. Credit…NY Times via Hironori Asakawa/Kyodo News, via Associated Press [Click to enlarge]

Earthquakes & Snowstorms Hit an Already Stressed Supply Chain

Since Strata-gee began tracking the story of our stressed-to-the-brink supply chain last year, the situation has only become more dire. Not only has the pandemic caused a once-in-a-hundred-years impact on the supply chain, but adding to that whipsaw from the collapse of demand to then off-the-charts demand, we can now add fires, earthquakes, and snowstorms to the mix.

It all adds up to a concerning level of stress to our supply chain that will impact product availability in multiple product segments, including residential and commercial technology.

Mother Nature mauls the supply chain…

[Read more…] about Let the Chips (Supply Chain) Fall Where They May

Onkyo Forges Global ‘Strategic Collaboration’ with Imagination Technologies Group

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Out of Tokyo, Japan this past Monday came word of a new global strategic collaboration between Onkyo Corporation, U.K.-based Imagination Technologies Group, and Imagination’s consumer division known as Pure. A global technology creator, Imagination Technologies Group largely focuses on multimedia, cloud, mobile, and connected audio technologies – often licensed to major consumer brands as part of their product offerings.

See more on this technology agreement…and what it portends for future Onkyo products… [Read more…] about Onkyo Forges Global ‘Strategic Collaboration’ with Imagination Technologies Group