Technology: Japan’s stalled chip sector to cost $470b

The cost to the global economy of Japan’s stalled computer chip industry could be almost half a trillion dollars.

TOKYO: The cost to the global economy of Japan’s stalled computer chip industry remaining shuttered into May could be almost half a trillion dollars, a report said on Saturday.

Manufacturers across Japan have closed down production lines or cut back their output because of direct damage or supply chain problems caused by the earthquake and tsunami that struck the northeast on March 11.

The Nikkei newspaper, citing a government estimate, said the knock-on impact on the global economy — caused by stalled production in companies that use Japanese-made parts as well as in related industries — could be 40 trillion yen ($470 billion).



Published in The Express Tribune, April 10^th, 2011.