Comments made by TSMC founder Morris Chang about high fab building costs in Arizona and higher operating costs in the U.S. created the impression that producing chips in America is way too expensive to be financially viable. However, analysts from TechInsights believe that this is not the case. According to the firm's recent study, the costs of wafers at TSMC's Fab 21 near Phoenix, Arizona, are only about 10% higher than those of similar wafers processed in Taiwan.
"It costs TSMC less than 10% more to process a 300mm wafer in Arizona than the same wafer made in Taiwan," wrote G. Dan Hutcheson from TechInsights.
