The complexity of the semiconductor manufacturing process is well known, but the logistics of supplying a megafab with equipment and materials can be equally complex. Delivering just one EUV lithography tool, for example, takes three Boeing 747 cargo planes, 40 freight containers and 20 trucks. The school bus-sized machine comprises 100,000 parts and weighs nearly 200 tons. “As capital equipment’s dimensions, weight and intricacy grow by leaps and bounds, so do the logistics challenges.” John Desmond, Vice President, Semiconductor & HiTech Global Logistics at Kuehne+Nagel, a provider of logistic and transport services.
Semiconductor manufacturing equipment can be sensitive to vibration, temperature and pressure fluctuations, humidity, light, shocks, and even g-forces. All of these must be considered during transport. “The resonant frequency coming from the road can actually shatter mirrors inside of a tool,” Desmond said. This means the truck must have specialized air ride shock absorbers. “Shorter runways mean higher g-forces, so the airport selection may have to be based on the equipment’s sensitivity,” he added.
Such tactical concerns are only the beginning. Given the number of fabs expected to come on-line in the coming years, challenges related to equipment transport and logistics are certain to increase. Barry O’Dowd, global head of semiconductor logistics at Kuehne+Nagel, noted that the semiconductor industry is highly capital intensive with a very integrated supply chain. “We need to make sure that the supply chain operates, and that the billions of dollars being invested in fabs are kept fully operational 24/7 and are not disrupted as a result of logistics issues,” he said.
A new report from the Semiconductor Industry Association and the Boston Consulting Group on the semiconductor supply chain notes that over 100 new semiconductor manufacturing investments have been announced in the last few years to meet increased market demand, dispersed worldwide across every major region. The report estimates that global capital expenditures in the semiconductor industry in the coming decade to be $2.3 trillion, and the U.S. is expected to attract $646 billion in capital investments, more than one-quarter (28%) of total global semiconductor investment.
“There’s going to be a huge pipeline of equipment that needs to be moved over the coming years,” said O’Dowd, “particularly in the U.S.” Shipping large tools requires tremendous long-term planning. “Some of the bigger equipment takes six months to take apart and six months to reassemble,” Desmond said. Often the equipment that is being replaced must also be shipped to a different fab or a third-party reseller.
The SemiconChain
Kuehne+Nagel originally started out shipping products for the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries, followed by shipping aircraft engines for the aerospace industry, all of which had specialized requirements. The move into the semiconductor industry space was a natural fit. “We have developed solutions to support the entire semiconductor supply chain,” O’Dowd said.
What makes Kuehne+Nagel unique in semiconductor logistics, said O’Dowd, is the company’s focus on a quality standard called SemiconChain. “We established global operation standards across our network, so that we all operate with the same work instructions and processes,” O’Dowd said. “When we say we’re going to handle a particular type of equipment in a particular way, it’s well understood by everybody across that network.”
The SemiconChain network is global and built around 25 key industry locations. Each location operates under the integration of the global quality standards ISO 9001-2015 and IATF 16949. The entire network is fully implemented, audited and certified to ensure full compliance of the service offering, and now includes digital tracking. “These digital tracking tools not only give you real-time transport updates, but they also track the integrity status of your goods,” said O’Dowd. “We can generate it in multiple languages, capture pictures, and have them in the central library that’s available online to all of the stakeholders across the supply chain.”
Click here to read the full article in the July issue of Semiconductor Digest.