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Resilience of critical resources

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How crisis-proof is the key semiconductor/microchip sector in Switzerland?

The availability of critical resources/electronics was identified in the Deloitte Resilience Barometer 2022 as a key area for the crisis resistance of the Swiss economy. Electronic components (especially semiconductors and microchips) are widely used in various industries and, due to digitalisation, have developed into a systemically important economic sector in Switzerland as well. In an in-depth analysis, we have assessed Switzerland’s risk exposure and developed recommended actions in tandem with experts in order to make Switzerland’s key semiconductor/microchip sector more crisis-proof in the future.

In recent years, the availability of semiconductors/microchips has been heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical tensions. The combination of rising demand and production bottlenecks led to supply shortages. Against this backdrop, it makes sense to assess the Swiss economy’s potential risk exposure in relation to the availability of semiconductors/microchips in individual risk scenarios, including new pandemics, extreme weather events and geopolitical tensions. The most important countries of origin of Swiss discrete semiconductor and integrated circuit imports have been rated in terms of their risk exposure for individual dimensions and overall on a scale ranging from “very low” to “very high”.

From an overall perspective, the risk is judged to be “high” for the key countries of origin of China, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Hong Kong and Vietnam. The potential risk exposure of the Swiss economy can therefore be rated as quite high, as these countries of origin accounted for 38% of all Swiss imports of discrete semiconductors and integrated circuits between 2018 and 2022. By contrast, countries of origin with a “very low” or “low” overall risk made up only 32% of imports during the same period.

This picture illustrates the need for companies, industry and the authorities to develop more targeted resilience measures for making Switzerland’s key semiconductor/microchip sector more crisis-proof. In interviews with experts, we have developed comprehensive recommended actions aimed at improving the resistance of this key sector.