This new foray into what’s gone wrong in semiconductors is brought to you by the phonemes “CO” and “VID,” and by the number 19.
Silicon Is the New Toilet Paper: Mounting Chip Shortages, Explained
“It’s a bit like everyone is crazily buying and hoarding toilet papers in a crisis. Everyone is fighting for resources at the same time, and I don’t see a turning point coming yet.” That was the bleak prediction made by Advantech Chairman KC Liu and he’s not wrong. Chip shortages have been a very persistent reality since the pandemic began and below, we break down all the reasons why buying new GPUs, SSDs and the like may be tough in 2021.
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1. Supply Can't Keep Up With Demand
In January, we started hearing companies say they thought the shortages could last until the end of Q2. Now, analysts are predicting they could actually persist for the next year.
2. Nature Is Wreaking havoc on Manufacturers
Foundries like TSMC have been ordered to cut their water usage due to severe drought. The restrictions could exacerbate the ongoing chip shortage.
When Samsung announced it would be shutting down its Austin production facility during last months’ winter storm, the company expected to have the fab up and running in a few weeks...
3. Back-to-Back Holidays Haven't Helped
"Given industry-wide capacity constraints and long cycle times, it may take a few more months for product availability to catch up with demand.”
Ampere availability isn’t going to improve any time soon, according to a new report.
4. Shortages in Other Industries Are Also Having an Impact
The ongoing automotive chip shortage is reportedly having ripple effects throughout the industry. Samsung is reportedly concerned that problems in one area of the semiconductor market could spill over...