Source: Chartbook
Tungsten hexafluoride—a critical precursor chemical for semiconductor manufacturing—has become a visible choke point in the chip supply chain, with prices tripling year-over-year as demand from AI and advanced processor production collides with concentrated supplier capacity. The shortage exposes how the semiconductor industry's complexity extends far beyond fabrication plants to obscure upstream chemicals where a handful of suppliers can create economy-wide constraint, making diversification of chemical manufacturing as strategically important as foundry redundancy for Western supply chains.