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 down the line, if you’ll excuse the pun.