Asia

Taiwan, Japan, Korea, China, India, ASEAN — where most of the world’s manufacturing still happens.

September 2026

News · Energy

EnerVenue starts production at its Changzhou plant

EnerVenue begins mass production on Thursday. The Kentucky plan was $264 million and 450 jobs. The Chinese plant cost $20–50 million, is about 95 percent automated, and will employ about 400 people. North America is pencilled in for 2028.

The Industrial Brief · 24 Sept 2026 · 7 min

News · Supply Chain

CoWoS is still sold out

Through mid-September TSMC’s advanced packaging was quoted with a year-long lead. The wafer is not the constraint. The stack is.

The Industrial Brief · 22 Sept 2026 · 3 min

In depth · Production

High-NA is waiting on a bigger photomask

TSMC, Samsung, Intel and ASML have agreed the industry must leave the 6-inch photomask. High-NA already throws away a third of a shift on stitching. 2031 is closer than it looks.

The Industrial Brief · 21 Sept 2026 · 8 min

News · Production

TSMC gets the land for what comes after A14

Taiwan has approved the third phase of Longtan in the Hsinchu Science Park. Three plants, first production in 2030, beyond 1.4 nanometres — in a park that already runs hot.

The Industrial Brief · 21 Sept 2026 · 4 min

News · Production

TSMC’s 2nm ramp is now a capacity question

TSMC is scaling 2-nanometre production as AI demand pulls foundry capital spending up for the first time since 2022 — while consumer silicon stays soft.

The Industrial Brief · 12 Sept 2026 · 4 min

News · Automation

A lights-out lab in Pune is selling the autonomous plant as a service

TCS opened a fully robotic battery-pack line that manufacturers can use to prototype AI-first production without betting a live factory on the first attempt.

The Industrial Brief · 10 Sept 2026 · 3 min

News · Policy

US duties shut Indian solar plants out of their biggest export market

As China’s solar capex collapsed, India’s share of global manufacturing investment jumped. Preliminary US countervailing duties then shut the largest export market. Plant plans now need a different customer.

The Industrial Brief · 10 Sept 2026 · 5 min

In depth · Supply Chain

A second region now means a second set of tools

A second qualified plant means a second set of tools, a second quality file and a slower payback. A contract manufacturer in another country is not that plant.

The Industrial Brief · 4 Sept 2026 · 8 min

News · Production

Japanese factories report the strongest orders since 2018

The PMI hit 54.9 in August. Semiconductor and AI-related demand is filling lines. The constraint is whether the rest of the plant can keep up without starving other customers.

The Industrial Brief · 1 Sept 2026 · 4 min