Mar 15, 2011 15:45 GMT  ·  By

So far, most companies reporting what the disaster in Japan meant for them have been optimistic or reserved, but it seems Texas Instruments is one of the unlucky ones whose facilities, or at least one of them, was severely affected.

Many things happened because of the disaster that struck Japan last week, and it seems that the consequences are getting worse and will likely be felt for a while.

No doubt the biggest worry, at present, is the radiation leak at the nuclear power plant whose reactors suffered some explosions, although actual meltdown has been avoided, so far at least.

Meanwhile, the IT market has to contend with the possibility of inventory shortages, especially on the memory market (spot prices already skyrocketed).

As for actual facilities that suffered more seriously, it seems that Texas Instruments owns one, located in Miho, about 40 miles northwest of Tokyo.

This fab used to account for about 10 percent of TI's total chip output and is expected to bring about unexpected expenses for the company during the first and second quarters of 2011.

Revenues should also see some losses, since Texas Instruments has to shift orders to other factories and has, so far, only managed to get its alternate manufacturing sites to make up for 60% of Miho's total, usual wafer production capacity.

TI hopes to reinstate the first stage of production in May, several lines at least, followed by progressive advancement until full operation is restored in July.

Unfortunately, with all the instability in the power grid of the region, there is a real chance that this plan won't be easy, or even possible, to stick to.

Either way, TI should be able to say just what the financial impact of all this will be by April 18, when it is set to publish its first-quarter earnings report.