The world’s leading semiconductor suppliers are pushing to overcome the prolonged shortage of chips that has hampered production from everything from appliances to computers and cars.
Chip manufacturers are trying to get more supply by making changes in manufacturing processes and opening spare capacity to rivals, auditing customer orders to avoid hoarding and swapping production lines. The bad news is that there are no quick fixes and the shortage is likely to continue next year, according to industry executives.
In addition to rising demand, producers have been paralyzed by a series of strange events that have dampened supply, while political frictions between the United States and China and concern over prolonged shortages have caused some manufacturers to store chips.
The current deficit includes the least advanced chips from which the major players in the industry have moved away to look for cutting-edge chips with a higher margin. The construction of new production capacity usually takes years.
This could slow post-pandemic recovery for certain industries that use chips that want to take advantage of rising consumer spending. It also feeds on inflation concerns, as higher chip costs can drive prices across the economy.