TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) said on Thursday (April 15) that it expects the global automotive chip situation to improve in the third quarter.

TSMC CEO C.C. Wei (魏哲家) said during an earnings call the global car chip shortage should improve during that time due to increased production from the company, CNA reported. Wei noted that last year up until the third quarter, TSMC was seeing reduced demand for automotive chips, which suddenly turned around in the fourth quarter.

According to Wei, the scarcity of car chips was exacerbated by unusually cold weather in Texas and a recent fire at a major Japanese chip facility.

In January, TSMC said it would prioritize automotive chips after being approached by global carmakers and various governments looking for help addressing the supply shortage. Since then, the company has been working with customers to adjust delivery schedules in order to allocate more wafer capacity to the car industry.

In regard to the ongoing drought in Taiwan, Wei said TSMC has several backup plans and has been working with both the private and public sectors to address the shortage. He stressed the drought would not have a major impact on the company’s operations.