South Korean truck union breaks out a large-scale strike, interrupting the supply of chips, auto production materials
28 August 2023
A mass strike by South Korean trucking unions entered its third day, disrupting supplies of materials needed to make chips. Just a day earlier, truckers had blocked the automaker's supply routes.
In an internal memo obtained by the Korea Economic Daily, the Ulsan branch of the Federation of Democratic Labor Associations advised union members to "focus on the import and export of LS-Nikko Copper and Korea Zinc, which supply raw materials to Samsung Electronics."
LS-Nikko Copper and Korea Zinc produce ultra-pure sulfuric acid (PSA) in Ulsan. Semiconductor manufacturers use this acid to clean silicon wafers. The memo emphasizes that the protest will take a two-pronged approach against the auto and semiconductor industries.
Thankfully, industry insiders generally predict that the strike will not affect semiconductor production due to ample inventories.
In an interview with the "Korea Economic Daily", a person in the semiconductor industry said, "After the new crown epidemic and the war in Ukraine, the Korean semiconductor industry has been committed to diversifying the supply chain." "It is unlikely that the truck driver's strike will affect the production line. ."
However, an industry source also said that union members will also try to limit supply flows to other semiconductor ecosystems. If the strike continues for a long time, supply disruptions and rising prices will be inevitable.
In an internal memo obtained by the Korea Economic Daily, the Ulsan branch of the Federation of Democratic Labor Associations advised union members to "focus on the import and export of LS-Nikko Copper and Korea Zinc, which supply raw materials to Samsung Electronics."
LS-Nikko Copper and Korea Zinc produce ultra-pure sulfuric acid (PSA) in Ulsan. Semiconductor manufacturers use this acid to clean silicon wafers. The memo emphasizes that the protest will take a two-pronged approach against the auto and semiconductor industries.
Thankfully, industry insiders generally predict that the strike will not affect semiconductor production due to ample inventories.
In an interview with the "Korea Economic Daily", a person in the semiconductor industry said, "After the new crown epidemic and the war in Ukraine, the Korean semiconductor industry has been committed to diversifying the supply chain." "It is unlikely that the truck driver's strike will affect the production line. ."
However, an industry source also said that union members will also try to limit supply flows to other semiconductor ecosystems. If the strike continues for a long time, supply disruptions and rising prices will be inevitable.
