TSMC adds another $100 billion to US fab ambitions without a firm schedule

TSMC said it plans to add another $100 billion to its US manufacturing buildout, bringing its stated US investment target to $265 billion across 12 facilities. The announcement extends one of the semiconductor industry’s largest reshoring pledges, but the company has not given a firm schedule for when the newest fabs would be built or brought into production.

The Taiwan-based foundry disclosed the expanded plan after reporting second-quarter revenue of more than $40.2 billion and profit above $22 billion, driven by demand tied to AI infrastructure. TSMC can point to the cash generation needed to fund expansion, but fab construction is constrained by permitting, utilities, equipment installation and labor, not only capital.

Chief executive C.C. Wei told investors on the company’s second-quarter earnings call that timing for the additional sites would depend on market conditions, according to a transcript. “If you ask me to give you a firm schedule, no, we don't have it today, but we do have a plan,” Wei said.

The company’s existing US program shows the gap between commitments and operating capacity. Since TSMC first announced a leading-edge US fab during President Donald Trump’s earlier administration, it has built two fab sites and started work on a third in Arizona, at a stated cost of $65 billion. Its first Arizona fab began operations in late 2024, with Apple and Nvidia named early last year as flagship customers.

A second Arizona fab is scheduled to make chips using TSMC’s 3-nanometer process and is expected to come online in the second half of next year. A third Arizona fab, announced in spring 2024, is not expected to begin volume production until at least the end of the decade, according to TSMC documents cited in the report.

TSMC also announced a separate $100 billion US manufacturing investment in March 2025, when Wei appeared with President Trump and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. That plan covered three new fabs, two advanced packaging facilities and an R&D center. None of those facilities has been completed, and the timelines remain broad. TSMC acquired 900 acres earlier this year to support that expansion.

The latest $100 billion pledge would add four more fab sites, according to TSMC. The company did not provide a detailed construction calendar, production targets, customer commitments or a breakdown of how much of the announced spending is tied to fabs versus packaging, R&D, land, utilities or support infrastructure.

Intel’s recent manufacturing retrenchment is the relevant cautionary comparison. Intel committed $30 billion for two Arizona fabs, €30 billion for a planned Magdeburg megafab in Germany, $25 billion for a site in Israel and $20 billion for a plant in Ohio. So far, one Arizona plant has materialized, while the German project has been canceled, the Israel site has been delayed indefinitely and the Ohio expansion has been pushed to at least 2030.

TSMC faces its own execution limits. Building and ramping a fab can take four to five years, and advanced facilities need thousands of trained workers. A McKinsey and SEMI analysis cited in the report projected a shortage of 157,000 skilled chip workers by the time TSMC’s third Arizona fab is completed.

The company’s US plan is therefore best read as a capacity option rather than a near-term supply increase. TSMC has the balance sheet and customer demand to justify more US manufacturing, but it has not yet shown when the additional $100 billion will turn into operating fabs.

This story draws on original reporting from The Register.