The Texas Semiconductor Manufacturing Industry

Posted by Dr. Jesus Jimenez
September 3, 2018

With worldwide sales of $400 Billion in 2017, the semiconductor manufacturing industry has become one of the leading industries driving the global economy. 

• ​​Source: Semiconductor Industry Association. (2017). "Global Semiconductor Sales Increase 21.5 Percent Year-to-Year in November".

This industry produces and distributes the chips that power the high-tech devices that we use today. It takes more than two months to fabricate a chip. The chip has to travel hundreds of miles, visiting multiple facilities around the world, to complete its manufacturing process.

• Source: Intel. "From Sand to Circuits: Making Silicon Chips".

In 2013, the Texas' Semiconductor and Electronics Component Manufacturing had a workforce of nearly 44,000 workers employed by 370 firms. This makes Texas the second largest semiconductor sector in the US. The Texas Workforce Commission identifies Austin, Dallas and Sherman as the centers with the highest concentration of workforce. The major foundries in the state are:

• Source: Texas Wide Open for Business. (2013). "The Texas Electronics Industry".

Chip manufacturers use state-of-the-art analytics tools, including computer simulation, to design their factories, schedule their capital intensive resources, calculate capacities, and optimize the global supply chain plans. 

• Source: Mönch, L., Fowler, J.W., Mason, S. (2013). "Production Planning and Control for Semiconductor Wafer Fabrication Facilities. Springer. DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4614-4472-5.