These industrial and geopolitical forces increased their support for federal chip legislation. For chipmakers, it has been clear since the Trump administration that US manufacturing would be encouraged and imports would be threatened by trade restrictions. The final bill attracted both a rare measure of bipartisan support in Congress and a rare endorsement of industrial policy.
In recent months, the chip market cycle has swung downward. Covid-related lockdowns in China, the war in Ukraine and inflation have taken a toll on consumer spending, as many economies struggle or are heading into recession.
PC shipments, for example, are expected to decline about 13 percent this year, according to research firm IDC. Smartphone sales are also weak.
Micron is a leading producer of memory and data storage chips used in personal computers, smartphones, data centers, automobiles, and a host of other electronic products. The company, based in Boise, Idaho, reported a 20 percent drop in sales last quarter, to $6.64 billion, and a 45 percent profit drop, to $1.49 billion.
But beyond the current cycle, the demand for memory chips is expected to grow, doubling by the end of the decade, according to industry estimates.
The company joins other major chip manufacturers in expanding their operations in the United States. Relying on investment incentives, Intel announced in January its plan to invest $20 billion to build two chip factories in Ohio.
In late 2021, Samsung said it would build a $17 billion factory in Texas. She later raised the possibility of adding more in the state with a total long-term investment of close to $200 billion. In 2020, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company announced that it will build a $12 billion plant in Arizona.
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