Elpida says Japanese eqarthquake has not disrupted supplies

CHIP MANUFACTURER Elpida Memory has said there have been no disruptions to its supply chain after the earthquake and tsunami in Japan earlier this month.

The Japanese firm is a major supplier of memory chips, ranking in third place behind Samsung and Hynix for DRAM.

Despite the disaster in Japan and its widespread effects on technology businesses there, Elpida has managed to secure enough components to continue its chip production until the end of July.

After that things might change, but the company said it was working on "alternative plans" for materials for the rest of the year, according to Reuters.

A spokesperson for the company said that all of its factories are working at nearly normal levels. The fact that it isn't exactly normal levels suggests that Elpida's production might still be affected, albeit in a minor way.

Elpida is one of the lucky ones. The earthquake caused many semiconductor facilities to temporarily close down, while subsequent blackouts in Tokyo further impacted production. A quarter of all silicon wafer production has ground to a halt, but some companies like Dell have said that they are unaffected despite the difficulties being experienced in the region. µ