US becomes top helium supplier for Taiwan and Japan | Taiwan News | J…

US helium exports to Taiwan, Japan and South Korea have surged from <5% to 56-83% of imports in a single year, driven by Iran-disrupted Qatari LNG production and Chinese export restrictions on the critical semiconductor gas. Chipmakers now face a geopolitically fragmented supply chain for an essential input to advanced manufacturing. If you sell helium, cryogenics, or gas handling equipment to chipmakers in Asia, your customer's supply chain just broke and reconstituted around US sources in under 12 months. The window to lock in long-term contracts with TSMC, Samsung and Sony before competition floods the US market closes this quarter.