China fire rattles world chip supply chain

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Here’s a tail-risk on the horizon for those in the hi-tech logistics business. A fire at a computer chip plant in the eastern Chinese city of Wuxi has threatened to curtail the production of the sort of chips used in smartphones and tablets – Apple and Samsung are among its largest customers – by some 15%. Although current high inventories of chips are expected to mean smartphone production could continue unabated for another two months, there could well be problems ...