Home > Business > Economy

Iran war strikes at semiconductor supply chain and others, not just oil

Published: 30 Mar. 2026, 13:07 Updated: 30 Mar. 2026, 14:40

A raw materials warehouse at a plastic manufacturing plant in Gwangju, Gyeonggi [NEWS1]

The Iran war is causing wide-ranging supply chain disruptions across the real economy that go far beyond higher oil prices. Alarm is rising particularly in semiconductors, pharmaceuticals and aviation, where input costs are high or substitute materials are scarce.

“From cutting oil used to slice silicon components to plastic film for packaging, supplies are starting to look shaky,” an representative at a domestic semiconductor equipment company said. “Our stockpiles have not yet run out, but suppliers say roughly 20 to 30 percent of ordered volumes could face disruptions, so the factory has been told to maximize efficiency in how it uses materials.”

The first to feel the pressure are companies at the bottom of the semiconductor ecosystem, where inventory buffers are thin. Shortages of raw materials have already spread to smaller semiconductor materials, parts and equipment makers.

As basic materials used throughout the production process are exposed to shipping delays and higher costs, concerns are growing that the manufacturing ecosystem could suffer a chain reaction.

An even bigger risk is looming in the supply chain for essential gases, a core pillar of semiconductor manufacturing. Helium, a byproduct of natural gas, is an indispensable material in chip production for wafer cooling and precise temperature control.

But the Middle East war has halted helium production in Qatar, cutting global supply by one-third.

“About 200 specialized containers used to transport helium were stranded in the strait at the outset of the war,” the New York Times reported Friday, citing Phil Kornbluth, a former gas industry executive and helium industry consultant. “It could take months to reposition them, refill them and deliver the gas to customers.”

The IV fluid manufacturing process is seen at JW Life Science’s JW Dangjin Production Complex. [JW LIFE SCIENCE]

"Without helium, leading chip makers, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company and South Korea’s Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, could struggle to keep production lines running, with cascading effects for semiconductor-powered devices from Apple’s iPhones to Nvidia’s [AI] servers," added the report.

Samsung Electronics and SK hynix have secured enough stockpiles to last several months, sparing them an immediate shock, but production disruptions would become unavoidable if the crisis drags on.

“We are monitoring the situation while diversifying import sources, including the United States,” an industry official said. “But if prices soar because of supply difficulties, the burden on costs will grow.”

The surge in international oil prices is spreading into shortages of essential medical supplies in the pharmaceutical industry.

Naphtha, the basic feedstock for plastics and often called “the rice of industry,” was around $600 per ton at the start of the year. It has recently nearly doubled to around $1,100. Korea depends on imports for 45 percent of domestic naphtha demand, and 77 percent of that comes from the Middle East.

Ships sail through the Arabian Gulf toward the Strait of Hormuz as the sun sets in the United Arab Emirates on March 23, 2026. [AP/YONHAP]

If supplies of synthetic resin made from naphtha are choked off, production of IV bags and pharmaceutical containers, both hospital essentials, could be paralyzed. Major drugmakers including Yuhan Corporation have secured enough packaging materials for two to three months for now and are closely watching the situation.

“The Korean word for IV infusion does not refer to water but to delivery, because IV fluids are also used to administer other medicines, including anticancer drugs, to patients,” said an representative at a domestic pharmaceutical company. “That is why they are such essential medical supplies, and if IV bag shortages become reality, the consequences could be devastating for public health and lives.”

The government on Friday midnight imposed a blanket ban on all exports of domestically produced naphtha, including volumes already committed under existing export contracts.

Airlines have taken a direct hit from fuel costs as well. The global weekly average jet fuel price stood at $197 per barrel as of March 20, up 105 percent from a month earlier, according to data compiled by the International Air Transport Association. With little room left to defend profitability, carriers have begun reaching for the most drastic option of canceling flights.

Jin Air will cancel 45 round-trip flights on eight routes from Saturday to April 30, including services from Incheon to Guam, Clark and Nha Trang and from Busan to Cebu. Air Premia, which operates long-haul routes, has also moved to suspend a total of 50 flights starting in April, including 26 on its Los Angeles route and eight on its San Francisco route, as it enters a painful round of cost cutting.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY YI WOO-LIM [[email protected]]