A report from the Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET) concludes that U.S. fab construction is among the slowest in the entire world, and it's because of messy and complex regulatory policies (via Dylan Patel). The report concludes that the CHIPS Act isn't enough to improve fab construction regarding cost and time, and suggests reform at all levels of government is necessary to get the U.S. on par with China, Europe, and Taiwan.
The CSET study looked at fab construction between 1990 and 2020, and concluded that for the roughly 635 fabs built in that timeframe, the average time between the start of construction and production was 682 days. Three countries beat that benchmark: Taiwan at 654 days on average, Korea at 620, and Japan at a staggeringly fast 584 days. Meanwhile, Europe and the Middle East were about on par at 690 days, as was China at 701 days.
