The dire situation over at the TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) in their production of 40nm chips has been evident since the launch of the ATI 5800 series graphics card, and unfortunately reports indicate it is unlikely to be resolved any time soon.

A report from Fudzilla indicates that the situation over the yields of 40nm production are unlikely to improve anytime in the near future. Currently production is sitting at approximately 50%, which is pitiful for a process that has been in production for nearly a year. It is indicated, that by this point in time, successful production should be sitting at nearly 90%.

TSMC had stated it would resolve the issues by the end of this quarter (Q4 2009), clearly an empty promise,  and they now expect that the shortage will carry through until at least Q1 of 2010.

Currently ATI is the only company with a heavy reliance on 40nm chips for a retail product (their 5800 series), however NVIDIA is rumoured to be launching their Fermi based graphics cards (also manufactured on the 40nm process) in early 2010 as well; placing even more strain on the clearly over burdened manufacturing sector.

What this means for consumers, is an unlikely end to the extreme shortage of the ATI 5800 series video cards – arguably the most in demand GPU on the market – any time before April of next year. Along with this, those holding out for NVIDIA to play its hand, may also be in for disappointment regarding stock levels when the retail release rolls around.