The Taiwan earthquake halted semiconductor production. Bloomberg writes that the actual extent of the damage is still difficult to judge. TSMC, a major chipmaker for Apple and Nvidia, has withdrawn staff from hazardous areas and said it is assessing the damage from the quake. Smaller local rival United Microelectronics Corp. also halted production at some factories and evacuated certain facilities in Hsinchu and Tainan.

Later, TSMC employees began to return to the fabs, although the company said it was still studying the consequences. That is, there is no question of returning to full production. Any stoppage in chip production will cause shortages and disrupt the production of the most complex semiconductors, Barclays analysts write. That is, there is a chance that the rise in price of video cards or computer hardware is only a matter of time.