chip shortage Archives - Gizmochina

China’s Semiconductor Imports Shows a Little Promise Amid Global Supply Shortage

Anubhav — Fri, 13 Oct 2023 14:06:55 +0000

Despite a tough year for global semiconductor supply, China‘s chip imports are showing signs of incremental improvement, according to recent data from the General Administration of Customs. From January to September, China imported 355.9 billion integrated circuits (ICs), which, although down from 416.7 billion during the same period last year, marks a slight uptick in recent months.

China’s overall import value still saw a 7.5% decline in the 9-month period

The total value of these imports fell 19.8% year-on-year to $252.9 billion. However, this is notably better than the 26.7% drop in the first quarter. By comparison, China’s overall import value saw a 7.5% decline in the nine-month period.

This subtle rebound occurs in a tricky global environment. Many Chinese tech companies are grappling with Washington’s export restrictions, which have been strategically deployed to stymie China’s access to high-end AI technology. However, the restrictions have proven to be a double-edged sword. While aiming to curb China’s tech rise, they also affect the U.S. and its allies—major players in the global semiconductor supply chain.

Data also reveals a decline in China’s imports from these U.S. allies—South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan. The most significant drop was a 23% plunge in imports from South Korea, followed by Japan and Taiwan with 16.3% and 20%, respectively.

Yet, the improvements in China’s semiconductor imports indicate a degree of resilience. With mounting export restrictions and the world still coming to terms with semiconductor scarcity, China seems to be navigating troubled waters with caution but also agility. It’s not just about the numbers; it’s also a hint at how China could be adapting to a changing tech landscape, even when faced with multifaceted challenges.

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Audi Exec: Chip shortage to persist for years for Germany’s car industry

Sean — Fri, 11 Aug 2023 12:49:59 +0000

In recent years, semiconductor shortages have impacted various industries across the globe including the automobile market. And according to an Audi executive, the shortages of chips will likely continue for more years in Germany.

Semiconductor shortage woes continue

A senior Audi manager stated that the chip shortage issue has created a bottleneck in Germany’s automobile industry. He adds that the issue will take years to deal with. For those unaware, the global chip shortage issue first began between 2018 and 2019, quickly engulfing various industries. The dire situation at the time had even led to automobile production being completely halted in certain parts of Europe.

Image via Reuters

Meanwhile, German carmakers and other electronics manufacturers have been severely impacted with production facing delays. These shortages are being faced across the globe so executives and policymakers are seeking to reduce their reliance on Asian and US chipmakers. At the moment, Germany has brought TSMC (the world’s largest contract chipmaker) over with billions of euros in subsidies. On the other hand, Intel also announced that it will be setting up a semiconductor factory in the region. Apart from Germany, the Taiwanese chipmaker is also expanding in Japan and the US.

But despite billions of dollars in investments, the shortage will still take years to alleviate, as per Renate Vachenauer, head of procurement at Audi. The senior official further added that automobile companies could help to ease these supply issues by using different chips. As of right now, the German market deals in around 8,000 different types of semiconductors for vehicles on the road. She added that “We have to use many levers to stabilize the supply of semiconductors and also stock up on the broker market to some extent.”

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AMD CEO Confirms Undershipping Strategy to Control Supply Chain

Oğuz Çakır — Fri, 03 Feb 2023 15:57:28 +0000

The chip shortage that started during the pandemic is almost over. Chip producing factories are no longer operating at 100% capacity, and manufacturers no longer have supply chain issues. However, despite these positive developments, some products are still not readily available in the market. You may wonder why. It turns out that there wasn’t a serious supply problem after all. AMD CEO, Dr. Lisa Su, confirmed that the company has been “undershipping,” meaning it was shipping less than actual demand. Here are the details…

AMD is ‘undershipping’ chips to balance CPU, GPU supply

According to CEO Lisa Su, AMD “undershipping” its products to balance supply and demand. As you know, the PC industry has experienced a great rise during the pandemic. Consumption has reached an unbelievable level and technology companies in particular have experienced their golden age. Unfortunately, things changed a bit after the pandemic. Leading to a drop in sales for both AMD and Intel

However, AMD managed to maintain a small profit despite the 51% YoY drop in client PC sales. It turns out that is because AMD’s under-shipping strategy helps the company maintain higher prices for its products. The company, which deliberately puts few products on the market, has control over all stages from production to consumption.

Unfortunately, this method, while diabolical, is quite popular and is not unique to AMD. Nvidia, another major chip maker, has also been under-shipping its gaming products to correct the inventory that is in the market. Gross margin is a key metric for chip companies, and AMD’s market tricks helped it achieve a 51% non-GAAP gross margin last quarter.

The under-shipping practice is one of the reasons why GPU prices haven’t plummeted despite the decrease in demand. It is unknown how long this so-called sales strategy will last. However, as long as it continues, the price increase in PC parts does not seem to end.

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Global Chip Shortage is Over! The Impact of Inflation on the Chip Industry

Oğuz Çakır — Mon, 30 Jan 2023 14:59:29 +0000

The global chip shortage has come to an end, as confirmed by the latest reports. The statement might seem overly optimistic, but the declining operation rates at South Korean chip foundries such as Samsung, DB Hitek, Key Foundry, Magnachip, and SK Hynix System IC supports the declaration. The chip industry is reportedly moving towards a more stable supply chain. Here are the details…

South Korean chip foundries to suffer low operation rate up to Q2

The global chip shortage, which began during the pandemic, has affected the entire world. The decrease in production capacity and simultaneous increase in demand resulted in a crisis that lasted for an extended period. Despite manufacturers operating at near full capacity to meet demand, both prices and product availability remained limited.

But that era has now come to an end. Recent reports indicate that many manufacturers in South Korea operate at 60-70%. Only Samsung is an exception, operating at 80% capacity. Unfortunately, the impact of global inflation and declining demand for IT products has resulted in a decrease in both chip prices and demand. Consumer electronics companies are also grappling with high inventory levels.

Unfortunately, this situation seems to affect the consumers negatively. People who paid high wages only a few months ago due to product and stock shortages will now buy products at low prices due to rising costs and inflation.

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TSMC & other chipmaker’s semiconductor expansion plan in jeopardy over equipment delays

Sean — Mon, 11 Apr 2022 08:21:52 +0000

Due to the ongoing issue of chip shortages, many semiconductor based firms like TSMC had plans to expand their production capacity to meet the rising demand. But it seems that this plan might be pushed further back due to additional delays in securing the proper equipment for the expansion.

According to a NikkeiAsia report, the chip makers that are planning on expanding their production capacity will have to see an additional wait time that might be around a year and a half, or possibly even longer. This delay arrive due to the long delivery time of key equipment that is needed for the expansion. In other words, the plans to alleviate the semiconductor shortage are also suffering from supply constraints as well.

As of right now, the leading chip tool manufacturers like Applied Materials, KLA, Lam Research, and ASML have warned their customers that the wait time for certain crucial machines might be up to 18 months long. Furthermore, multiple sources have also told NikkeiAsia that the supply constraints have caused shortages in practically everything, ranging from lenses, valves, and pumps to microcontrollers, engineering plastics and even electronic modules as well.

This means that leading foundries like TSMC, Intel, Samsung, and others will see delays in their expansion plans. For those unaware, firms like TSMC already had planned to have plants go online as soon as next year. But now, sources believe that the long lead times might affect their original plans. Thus, executives at UMC, Samsung, and more have started sending senior executives overseas to urge equipment makers to raise their efforts for faster deliveries.

China has the world’s largest automobile market, but only 5% use local chips

Sean — Fri, 01 Apr 2022 08:03:33 +0000

Back in 2021, the Chinese automobile market was severely impacted by the ongoing chip shortage issue. Meanwhile, a new report has revealed that while China has the largest automobile market, the domestic market only uses 5 percent of local chips.

For those unaware, the automobile industry across the globe took a hit due to supply constraints of semiconductors. Despite electric cars and other new energy vehicles becoming more popular, the lack of chips had caused a decline in the market. As of right now, the automobile production and sales of new energy vehicles market in China is the leader in the industry. However, the domestic market’s self sufficiency rate for auto chips is less than 10 percent.

According to a MyDrivers report, this localization rate is less than 5 percent. In other words, despite having the largest automobile market, especially for NEVs, China only uses around 5 percent of locally made chips for the cars it manufactures. In the automotive industry, the MCU chips are the most in short supply. Notably, this chip is also the one which is basically monopolized by foreign chip manufacturers. The only exception to this is BYD, but apart from this brand, there are no other Chinese automakers that manufacture this chips.

As per an industry insider, the core chipsets for the automobile industry is basically in the “hands of foreign” manufacturers. The source also added that the China market has a a lot of money but only a few players have the patience to invest. Producing chipsets require money and at least 5 to 10 years worth of time.

Samsung estimates global chip shortage continuing until H2 2022

Jeet — Thu, 09 Dec 2021 06:21:40 +0000

Everyone is aware of the global chip shortage which has impacted almost every industry and the smartphone industry has also been hit. Samsung, which is the smartphone leader globally and also makes its own chips, has also been impacted.

Now, as per the report from The Elec, Samsung believes that the chip shortage will continue up until the second half of 2022. The report is citing TM Roh, Chief of Samsung Mobile, who discussed this issue with around 30 partners and vendors last month.

Samsung noted that the chipsets and RF chips will be short in supply until H2 2022 and the company is taking steps to mitigate the shortages. The South Korean giant is now pushing for annual contracts with chip foundries to secure the chip production capacity.

The company is now looking to stock up to four weeks’ worth of chip supplies instead of the firms currently stocking two weeks of supply. It’s good to see Samsung taking the necessary steps to ensure smooth operations amid chip shortages.

Samsung has suffered a lot in the current year because of these shortages. The brand’s Galaxy S21 FE has been delayed and is now set to launch in January 2022, pushing the launch of the Galaxy S22 lineup to February.

Apple iPhone production takes a hit ahead of Christmas due to supply chain issues: Report

Sean — Wed, 08 Dec 2021 08:00:14 +0000

With the arrival of the fourth quarter of a year, the market usually sees a rise in smartphone production to cover sales during the holiday season. But now, Apple seems to be facing various supply chain issues that has caused it to slow down the production of its iPhones.

According to a Nikkei Asia’s ‘Nightmare Before Christmas‘ report, the Cupertino based giant’s primary suppliers Foxconn, Pegatron, and others have slowed down production for the first time in over a decade. Apparently, the suppliers’ workers are getting more off time, rather than overtime, which is common during the year end period. Nikkei added that “two years of lockdowns, chip shortages, and energy cuts have finally caught up with the iPhone maker.”

For those unaware, workers usually work overtime during the holiday season as the period generally records some of the highest sales for the iPhone maker. Furthermore, Apple CEO, Tim Cook, had previously said that the supply constraints back when the new iPhone lineup launched had also costed the company a whopping 6 billion US Dollars. The primary reason for this shortage was due to the ongoing global shortage of chipsets. Nikkei’s report further added that the brand had to cut the 2021 iPhone production target by more than 10 million units after Broadcom and Texas Instruments were enable to deliver the required components.

In other words, the lack of even the smallest components can cause a major delay. The ‘Nightmare before Christmas’ report even had Nikkei dive deep by interviewing over 20 industry executives to find out what caused the company’s production to take a hit. As of right now, the production goal is still short by 20 percent of Apple’s original target as its struggles with the restrictions on power in China, lockdowns in Vietnam and Malaysia, and supply constraints due to the rising demand for chips in the market.

Notably, the iPad production fared even worse with the company producing only 50 percent of its original estimations. The shortage for parts stretched till the month of November , so customers who order now, would likely be unable to get their new tablet by the time for Christmas. Delivery times for some of its most popular electronic gadgets have also reached till January 2022 now. On the other hand, sources close to the matter have stated that the company is apparently asking its suppliers to reaccelerate iPhone production for the month of November, December, and January.

Sony suspends sale of another one of its cameras due to chip shortage

Sean — Tue, 07 Dec 2021 11:56:37 +0000

The ongoing chip shortage has yet to subside and is still affecting various industries across the globe. This issue has already affected smartphones, automobiles, and even the camera market as well, with cameras from Sony becoming even more difficult to buy.

According to a Digital Photography Review report, the shortage of semiconductors have caused the Japanese tech giant to stop sales for another one of its cameras. The camera in question is the ZV-E10, which is a mirrorless vlogging camera that was first launched back in August 2021. On its official website, Sony announced that it is suspending the sale of its ZV-E10 on its store or through any of its distributors as of right now.

The company stated that the suspension arrives due to chip shortage, which caused a delay in sourcing of components. Notably, the vlogging camera is just one among other cameras that the brand had to discontinue this year alone. Just last month, Sony had to stop the sale of the A7 II, A6400, and the A1600 series cameras along with the ECM-B1M shotgun mic and PXW-Z190 camcorder as well. Similarly back in April, the company’s Handycam HDR-CX680 camcorder sales were also suspended.

At the moment, the A9 series of cameras also seem to be discontinued or could very well be available in very limited stock. Some distributors have listed these products as “No longer available.” The issues with the part shortage doesn’t end there as the camera models that are available are also facing delays in shipments and longer than usual wait times for delivery.

Nvidia re-releases RTX 2060 with 12GB VRAM to help ease GPU shortage

Sean — Thu, 02 Dec 2021 12:18:22 +0000

Earlier this year, Nvidia had announced that it will be relaunching some of its older graphics cards to help offer more low cost options in the market. And staying true to its word, the company has just rereleased the GeForce RTX 2060, which now features 12GB of VRAM.

For those unaware, the world is suffering from a global shortage of chipsets/semiconductors. During this time, Team Green had launched its highly anticipated RTX 3000 series. However, lack of supply paired with scalpers and crypto miners buying these GPUs in bulk meant that regular gamers and other customers couldn’t get their hands on the new cards. This even drove up the market prices for older cards and the second hand market as well. But now, these older cards could help ease this issue since scalpers and crypto miners are likely steer clear away from these low cost graphics card.

The new RTX 2060 will be available starting from 7th December 2021 and features slightly bumped up specs as well. This includes a higher base clock speed and a slight higher count of CUDA cores, with the newer model featuring 2,176 over the original’s 1,920. In certain ways, the specs are more in line with the refreshed RTX 2060 SUPER rather than the base 2060 from the last generation. Another notable difference is the VRAM that is now a sizeable 12GB, which is even higher than the high end RTX 3070 and RTX 3080.

Meaning, this could be a “premium” refresh of the RTX 2060. But unfortunately, Nvidia has yet to official reveal the pricing details for this GPU. Although, the RTX 2060 that launched back in 2019 retailed for 349 US Dollars. So, we can expect a price tag that is similar to this. While the effort to help ease the GPU shortage and scalping issue is a welcomed one, a single GPU in front of an overall chip shortage might not be quite effective as of right now.

India PC market sees record high shipments in Q3 2021 despite chip shortage: IDC

Sean — Fri, 19 Nov 2021 12:29:54 +0000

The PC market of India has retained its growth momentum in the third quarter of this year, despite the ongoing chip shortage. The region was an impressive 30 percent year on year growth in the category that includes desktops, notebooks, and even workstations.

According to an IDC report, PC shipments in India hit 4.5 million units, which marked the country’s biggest ever shipments in a single quarter. Notably, the 4.5 million shipment figures is higher than the entire yearly shipments from back in 2019. This was the year before the pandemic, after which, PC shipments exploded all across the globe. With the record high sales, many brand reported some of their biggest quarterly performance for PCs.

In the category, notebook PCs still dominated the segment, with a massive 80 percent share. During the third quarter, enterprise and consumer demand helped boost the Notebook category over 3 million units for the first time. Similarly, even the desktop category saw a positive trend with a 30.5 percent year on year growth in Q3 2021. Bharath Shenoy, IDC’s Senior Market Analyst for PC Devices stated that “Despite the better allocations to a few segments, the demand-supply gap continues to be a challenge as enterprises and SMBs continue to order in big volume.”

During this time, HP continued to lead in the overall PC category with a sizeable 28.5 percent market share in the market. Meanwhile, Dell arrived a close second with a 23.8 percent market share, overtaking Lenovo that had an 18.6 percent market share in the third quarter. Acer and ASUS rounded up the group with fourth and fifth spots in the market respectively.

Apple supplier Foxconn believes chip shortage may stretch into H2 2022

Sean — Tue, 16 Nov 2021 12:31:24 +0000

Foxconn, a major supplier of iPhones for Apple, has recently shared its views on the ongoing chip shortage. The company believes that the semiconductor shortages might be stretched well into the second half of next year.

According to a WallStreetJournal report (Via MacRumors), the Cupertino based giant has been facing the impacts of the chip shortage for several quarters now. But in the latest quarter, the supply constraints on components have started affecting the brand’s business. For those unaware, the world is currently facing an going semiconductor shortage that has impacted various industries, including the likes of automobiles, home appliances, smartphones, and many more.

This, in turn, has even lead to lead times (time between an order being placed and actual delivery) rising for all of Apple’s products. This includes iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and even Macs. According to the company, the shortages have cost it 6 billion US Dollars, which would escalate even further with the arriving holiday season. While Foxconn’s production for iPhone have recently been improving, the delivery times are still much higher than normal.

With the holiday season being just around the corner, the iPhone maker is encouraging prospective buyers to ensure they receive it in time for the holidays. The issue with supply has even caused the company to provide “order by” dates for some of its most popular products as well.

Sony PS5 production takes a hit due to supply constraints: Report

Sean — Thu, 11 Nov 2021 11:27:31 +0000

Sony is apparently facing issues with production of its PlayStation 5 gaming console. Reportedly, the company has been making lower units of the console due to shortage of components.

According to a Bloomberg report, the Japanese tech giant has internally lowered its production plans for the current financial year. Initially, the brand had projected to manufacture 16 million units of its popular PS5 between April 2021 and March 2022. But now, that figure has dropped to around 15 million units. Notably, this is also close to Sony’s previous public projection that revealed that it would sell 14.8 million units of the PS5 console in this financial year.

In other words, the drop in production is indicative of the severe shortage of components as of right now. The previous 16 million production units would have enabled the company to meet its target for 2021, while also allowing it to have additional stock for the next year. But due to the ongoing global shortage of semiconductors and other components, it seems that Sony is struggling with the production. The report added that shipments of components are irregular and are mostly late. Furthermore, the varying levels of vaccinations have made operations of production lines even more complicated.

Sony has estimated that it would sell 22.6 million units of its PS5 console before the financial year of 2022 ends, although, its manufacturing partners reportedly believe that this goal might be difficult to meet considering the ongoing supply constraints. So, it seems that getting your hands on a PlayStation 5 console has just become even more harder.

Apple iPhone 13 supply to go up during the holiday season

Sudhanshu — Mon, 08 Nov 2021 17:31:47 +0000

The availability of the iPhone 13 will improve during the coming holiday season, contradicting the predictions of analysts and customers based on the global chip shortage and cuts in production due to the pandemic.

iPhone production like many other products has been suffering from the global chip shortage due to supply chain disruption in silicon availability globally. Estimated Shipping timing for iPhone 13 was spanning weeks and has cost the company $6 billion.

However, the demand and supply gap for iPhone 13 has narrowed in the previous months, as apple suppliers managed to ease the shortage of certain components. And as the holiday season begins, Digitimes reports that a production boom will be able to address the previous issues of availability and demand.

Additionally, Apple has upgraded all its products from Airpods to the Mac, which will prove appealing to the customers, specifically Airpods which are a popular holiday gift. Apple also released its third generation of Airpods with significant new features such as adaptive EQ, Spatial Audio with head tracking, and improved durability.

With the coming holiday season, the company has extended its return policy for products bought between November 1 and December 25 to 8 January 2022. This new policy applies to iPhone‌, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple TV, AirPods, HomePod mini, and more.

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MediaTek chip prices rises by 15% due to supply constraints: Report

Sean — Mon, 08 Nov 2021 07:40:34 +0000

While MediaTek chipsets have seen a rise in demand, supply constraints and the global semiconductor shortage have made them short in supply. And Now, the company is following other chipmakers and is apparently raising the prices of its processors as well.

According to a UDN report, the Taiwanese chipmaking giant is raising the prices for some of its smartphone chips that are in high demand this month. The bump in prices are as high as 15 percent, so the company is also expected to see stronger performance and higher profits due to the robust momentum. Unfortunately, the company did not offer any comments on its chip price hike, although, sources close to the matter confirmed that MediaTek has raise the prices of smartphone processors.

The sources stated that 4G LTE enabled chips saw a sharp price rise since the primary focus of chipmaker’s is usually the 5G smartphone market. 4G chips now hold a smaller stake in the market but demand for 4G smartphones is still high in markets such as India where 5G networking is still not commercialized. Furthermore, the order of 4G handsets have caused the supply of LTE enabled phones to surpass the demand. Similarly, the brand’s rival, Qualcomm, is also expected to raise the prices of its chipsets, although, this has yet to be confirmed.

The rise in prices of MediaTek processors is as high as 15 percent for 4G chips and 5 percent for 5G enabled chips. The primary reason for the hike in price is due to the increase cost of production from TSMC’s foundry. Previously, the company had also raised the prices of its WiFi chips by about 20 percent as well while we had also reported on other foundries like Samsung raising their prices.

Nintendo looking to ‘substitute components and tweak designs’ to tackle chip shortage

Sudhanshu — Fri, 05 Nov 2021 14:37:05 +0000

Nintendo Co. Ltd on Friday revealed that the global chip shortage, which had already forced the company to downscale its expected sales for the much-loved Switch device, is also hindering hardware development.

“The semiconductor situation is having some effect on hardware development. We are looking at substituting components and tweaking designs to try and reduce the impact,” said Nintendo executive Mr. Ko Shiota.

If you have been out of the loop, the world is suffering from a shortage of semiconductors at the moment. This issue has affected various tech-reliant industries across the globe including the automobile, consumer electronics (Smartphones, Laptops, gaming consoles, Televisions), home appliances, and more.

In a statement given to CNBC last month, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger has speculated that the global chip shortage will likely linger for a lot longer. He said that he expects the shortage to extend at least until 2023.

This announcement comes a day after the company president Mr. Shuntaro Furukawa stated that the chip shortage shows no sign of easing up, and it has forced the company to cut down on its annual sales forecast of the Nintendo Switch by 6%. Mr. Furukawa also revealed that the company is struggling to meet the increased demand in the year-end holiday shopping season as chip shortages interrupt production.

The gaming giant depends heavily on its console business, all the while deep-pocketed rivals such as Microsoft are expanding subscription and cloud gaming services.

Nintendo on Friday further stated that “Nintendo plans to continue to expand its business around the core concept of creating unique integrated hardware-software products.”

Arm CEO warns that the global chip shortage could extend beyond December 2021

Jed John Ikoba — Wed, 03 Nov 2021 20:24:56 +0000

The global shortage of important components for a wide array of tech products, it seems, is yet to abate, as multiple industry projections indicate that the chip shortage will extend beyond December 2021. Arm CEO, Simon Segars views the worsening situation as possible of harming sales of tech products including smartphones during the year-end festive period. Segars sees a widening gap between demand and supply, which he viewed as the most extreme he had seen.

The global glut is even projected to extend up to December 2022, as chipmakers grapple with clearing the backlog of unfulfilled orders from manufacturers. The Arm boss also feels that consumers will be affected in getting their orders for devices on a schedule. His views are not different from sentiments shared by chipmakers and industry experts, even with some extensive efforts to bridge the demand-supply gulf.

The chip shortage is seen to be worsening in some cases, affecting production deadlines and stalling critical aspects of the production schedule. It is unclear the level of damage the chip shortage had done to the tech industry, but it could be rising. Some of the heavy hitters in the chipmaking business have continued to expand their operations and technologies to address the chip shortage. Some governments have also made interventions to monitor and enhance the supply chain to curb inefficiencies and delays in the chain. These moves seem not to have yielded the full desired result as of now.

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Apple slashes iPad production to improve chip supply to iPhone 13 series

Sean — Tue, 02 Nov 2021 09:36:41 +0000

Apple has been lowering the production of its iPads to improve its chip supply for its iPhone 13 series. The company had to shift chip supply to the latest iPhone, which has led to shorter delivery times.

According to a Nikkei Asia report, sources close to the matter have revealed that production of iPad has been lowered by a significant 50 percent than its original plans for the past two months. The lowered production of iPads allowed the Cupertino based giant to allocate more chips and other components to the iPhone 13 series that has seen robust demand all across the globe. This also showcases that the company’s new iPads and iPhones have a number of parts that are common across both platforms.

In other words, the brand has coped better amid the global semiconductor shortage as it can shift production from two different products. The reason the company is shifting is shifting production to the iPhones is likely due to its stronger than expected demand. Although, the demand for iPads has also been quite strong as well. Meanwhile, separate reports have also pointed at delivery times of iPhone 13 series becoming shorter, which also hints at its supply chain improving.

As of right now, the average lead times across the world for the iPhone 13 mini and iPhone 13 has settled around 12 and 13 days respectively. Similarly, lead times for the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max also stabilized around 32 days, which is down from 37 days. However, the lead times are still quite a bit longer than the last generation’s iPhone 12 series.

Italy in talks with Intel for a multibillion dollar chip plant: Report

Sean — Mon, 25 Oct 2021 12:45:59 +0000

Rome is apparently seeking to win over Intel and have it invest billions to build a chipmaking plant in Italy. The news arrives amid a global shortage of semiconductors that has affected various economies and industries across the globe.

According to a Reuters report, sources close to the matter have revealed that Italy is drawing up offers to convince the chipmaking giant to setup an advanced chip production site in the country. As per the three sources, the government is already in talks with team blue regarding the potential investment, with its preliminary estimates being more than 4 billion euros (roughly 4.7 billion US Dollars).

Notably, the new chip plant in Italy would be in line with the drive by the US group that seeks to build advanced semiconductor based factories in Europe. This, in turn, would help prevent major shortages or supply constraints in the future. For those unaware, the world is currently facing a global shortage of chipsets. The issue in supply was so sizeable that automobile production for certain carmakers had halted entirely earlier this year.

Now, it seems that Rome is ready to fund part of this multi billion dollar plan that could reach around 8 billion euros just to build a cutting edge chip plant with Intel. This factory would also create more than 1000 jobs in the nation. One of the sources told Reuters that “The government is preparing a very detailed offer with the aim of clinching a deal by the end of the year. Discussions with Intel are at an advanced stage. There is no deal yet, but if the government works hard on this it has a good chance of bringing the plant to Italy.”

Hyundai to develop chips to reduce its reliance on chipmakers

Sean — Thu, 14 Oct 2021 08:03:39 +0000

The Chief Operating Officer of Hyundai Motor revealed earlier this week that the company is planning on developing its own chips. This move arrives amid the global chip shortage as the company seeks to reduce its reliance on chipmakers.

For those unaware, the world is facing a shortage of semiconductors that has impacted various industries across the globe, including the automobile industry. The shortage even led to certain carmakers halting production entirely due to supply constraints. Now, the South Korean automobile maker, Hyundai, is apparently seeking to develop its own chips to cut off its dependence on chipmakers. The news comes after the company saw the “toughest months” in August and September 2021 (Via Reuters).

The company’s COO Jose Munoz stated that the worst has passed for the industry chip shortage. He further added that “But also in our case, we want to be able to develop our own chips within the group, so we are a little bit less dependent in a potential situation like this. This takes a lot of investment and time, but this is something we’re working on.”

The senior official said that the company is also aiming on delivering vehicles at the level of its original business plan in the fourth quarter of this year. Furthermore, the South Korean automobile manufacturer is also on track to produce electric cars in the US in 2022. Hyundai Motor is one among many other car brands like Tesla and Toyota that faced supply constraints amid the global semiconductor shortage.

Apple reportedly cuts iPhone 13 production due to chip shortage

Jeet — Wed, 13 Oct 2021 02:45:33 +0000

Its been a few weeks since Apple started selling the newly launched iPhone 13 series models in the markets across the world. The company has been facing issues with the production of its products due to chip shortage and it seems that the trouble for the company has now increased.

According to the latest report, Apple is cutting down the production of its iPhone 13 models by as many as 10 million units because of the chip shortages.

The technology giant was expected to produce about 90 million units of its newly launched smartphones in the fourth quarter of this year but it appears that the manufacturing partners of Apple have informed the company that the total will be lower because of shortage of components from Broadcom and Texas Instruments.

The development comes at a time when the supply for the Apple iPhone 13 series smartphones is also constrained. While delivery times for some of the models were already pushed, the situation could worsen with the holiday period about to begin soon.

The Apple iPhone 13 models use Broadcom AFEM-8215 front-end module and a Broadcom BCM59365 wireless power receiver, along with display power management IC, array driver, flash LED driver and dual repeater from Texas Instruments.

It also remains to be seen how the chip shortage will impact the upcoming MacBook Pro models powered by the Apple M1X chipset, set to be officially launched next week. Recently, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo had said that Apple would cut its MacBook shipments in half due to component shortages. This is believed to be related to the lack of power management integrated circuits.

TSMC rejects disclosing its Client Data to the US

Sean — Fri, 08 Oct 2021 11:00:59 +0000

The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is rejecting a recent White House request to disclose details about its relationships with its suppliers and customers, which would also include information on various aspects of its operations.

According to Sylvia Fang, the world’s largest contract chip maker’s general counsel, “We will definitely not leak our company’s sensitive information, especially that related to our customers. We are still at the stage of doing some preliminary research and evaluating the contents of the questionnaire (sent by the US government).” Apparently, the US is demanding details into the types of products it produces for clients, lead times, inventory levels and other information that the company deemed as confidential.

As of right now, TSMC is seeing a record demand for its semiconductors, especially from the automobile industry in the recent quarter due to the ongoing global chip shortage that has affected various industries and markets across the globe. The Automotive segment is one of the biggest industries across the globe, including the US, with companies employing tens of millions of people globally. So when the production of cars halts due to a supply shortage, the impact of the constraints poses a significant economic threat.

Thus, the US is working to secure its own chip supply while also discerning the semiconductor supply chain of other nations by asking foundries to voluntarily disclose information regarding their business. Washington even went as far as to threaten these firms using a national security law, as per a NikkeiAsia report. Gina Raimondo, the US Secretary of Commerce added that “We have other tools in our tool box that require them to give us data. I hope we don’t get there. But if we have to we will.”

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Redmi K40S faces production difficulties due to chip shortage: Exec

Sean — Thu, 07 Oct 2021 08:01:26 +0000

Xiaomi usually launches its Redmi K series of budget flagship smartphones in the second half of a year. But now, a company official has revealed that the series is facing difficulties in production due to the chip shortage.

Earlier today (7th October 2021), Wang Teng Thomas, the product manager of the Chinese smartphone maker (Via MyDrivers), revealed that the Redmi K40S series is facing issues in production. In other words, the K40S series might have its launch delayed slightly or its possible that the lineup might not be launched entirely. Although, this is just speculation as of right now, so take it with a pinch of salt.

As per previous reports, the Redmi K40S will be a rebranded Xiaomi 11T series, which is similar to the K30S being a rebranded Mi 10T series last year. The K40S lineup will apparently include three different models, despite the Xiaomi 11T series only having two models. Although, every model is reportedly set to arrive with different varying charging speeds. The base model will have support for 33W fast charging, while the standard model will charge at 67W, and the high end model will support 120W fast charging.

Furthermore, at least one of the models will feature a MediaTek Dimensity 1200 SoC and a Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 chip. Since the Xiaomi 11T series also has a model with Snapdragon 888 processor, we can expect to see a high end model with the same. It was also reported that the new series will be launched in time for the Double Eleven festival in November. So stay tuned for more updates.

Samsung Mobile Head visited US twice to secure more chips: Report

Sean — Tue, 28 Sep 2021 08:41:46 +0000

The Samsung Mobile division’s President and Head TH Roh has apparently made two visits to the US within this year. The executive made the trips to secure more chipsets/mobile application processors that is required for smartphone production.

According to TheElec, Roh met with major component makers in the US to secure a more chips and asked major partners to supply the South Korean tech giant. However, the official was reportedly denied, as per sources close to the matter. The first trip was made back in March while the last one was in July. The source further added that the President of Samsung Mobile division visited a global application processor maker in July and asked for more chips, but was refused outright.

The component maker had told the President that they wished to increase overall supply as well, but couldn’t increase the supply to Samsung along as of right now. Notably, Roh was also accompanied by the Vice President who remained in the US and returned to South Korea after staying for about three months. A company spokesperson stated that their trip was not without any results and they did result in the brand being able to secure some volume.

Although, the failure to secure more chips is indicative of the ongoing global shortage of semiconductors that has affected various industries across the globe. This includes the consumer electronics and even the automobile industry. At the moment, smartphone production has been negatively affected due to supply constraints in the third quarter of this year, which is also expected to continue in the fourth quarter as well.

Elon Musk: New semiconductor plants to end global auto chip shortage in 2022

Sean — Mon, 27 Sep 2021 11:55:36 +0000

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, has recently stated that the global shortage of chips that has affected the automobile industry should end by next year, thanks to the construction of new semiconductor plants.

For those unaware, there is an ongoing crisis regarding semiconductors shortages that have affected various industries across the globe. One of the worst affected was car production, which had even halted entirely for certain brands due to supply constraints. Now, Musk stated that “There’s a lot of chip fabrication plants that are being built. I think we will have good capacity for providing chips by next year.” during a joint session with Stellantis and Ferrari Chairman John Elkann at the Italian Tech Week (Via Reuters).

The two of them also agreed on potential support coming from nuclear power to cover the increasing global energy needs. Elon Musk further added that “I am surprised by a recent move away of some countries from nuclear energy, which is safe.” Since the onset of the chip shortage, various major chipmakers began expanding their production capacity to ensure a steady supply of semiconductors. So, we can expect supply to eventually catch up with the explosive demand.

Global Chip Shortage issue intensifies, wait times hit record 21 weeks

Sean — Wed, 22 Sep 2021 09:59:06 +0000

The wait times for companies looking for chipsets have risen even further. In August, the industry has hit a record 21 weeks lead time, which is indicative of the global chip shortage issue worsening over time.

For those unaware, the world is facing a shortage of semiconductors at the moment. This has affected various industries across the globe, including the automobile, consumer electronics, and others. Lack of chips has led to carmakers halting production, while the electronics industry’s growth has also been stunted. According to research from Susquehanna Financial Group (Via Bloomberg), the lead times for chips has risen again and reached 21 weeks last month.

This marked a lead time rise of 6 days over July 2021. In layman’s terms, the gap between companies placing an order for semiconductors and receiving delivery has been on the rise. Back in July, we had reported on wait times hitting a record 18 weeks. As of right now, the gap is the longest wait times ever since the firm began tracking semiconductors since 2017.

Furthermore, the report found that the lead times for analog and Broadcom chips have also gotten worse, but the power management chips and certain optoelectronic components have seen a positive trend recently. Notably, the shortage of semiconductors have also impacted recovery from the Coronavirus pandemic. This holds especially true for the automobile industry, with reports suggestions that the entire automotive industry will lose around 110 billion US Dollars in sales.

Not only JioPhone Next but many other smartphones face issue due to chip shortage: Counterpoint

Jeet — Mon, 13 Sep 2021 05:35:52 +0000

Recently, Indian telecom giant Reliance Jio announced that its upcoming smartphone, named JioPhone Next, will be officially launched by the Diwali festival in the country, which means that it will be available by 4th November.

The entry-level smartphone made in collaboration with Google was earlier set to get launched in the Indian market last week but the phone’s release has been delayed and the company has claimed global chip shortage as the reason.

JioPhone Next

Now, a report from Counterpoint Research claims that the JioPhone Next isn’t the only device being affected by the severe shortage of components and shipping delays. It says that many top smartphone makers are delaying or limited the launch of their products to certain markets due to production issues.

The delays in smartphone launches are linked to shortages in components like power management integrated circuits. The rising cost for key components such as memory, processors, and logistics is also a key factor.

At the same time, companies are also increasing the pricing of smartphones. The prime example of this would be Xiaomi-backed Redmi which increased the price of the Redmi Note 10 series four times in the Indian market.

According to Counterpoint Research, the year is expected to end with about 190 launches, which is less than over 207 launches last year. So far, companies have conducted around 103 smartphone launches this year.

It remains to be seen how many devices get launched in the fourth quarter of this year which is the prime sale period for both online and offline sales because of the festive season and it accounts for around one-third of annual sales.

Chip prices expected to rise into 2022, may impact brands like Apple: Report

Sean — Tue, 07 Sep 2021 09:30:33 +0000

The prices for semiconductors is expected to rise well into next year, while major chip manufacturers like TSMC are expected to hike chip rates as well. This arrives amid a global shortage of semiconductors that has affected various industries across the globe, including brands like Apple.

According to a NikkeiAsia report, the prices of semiconductors have been on the rise since the last quarter of last year. The rates began rising with a supply shortage, following which, TSMC announced its biggest price hike in a decade. As of right now, the world’s largest contract chipmaker account for over half the global foundry market and has built chips for major tech giants like NVIDIA, Apple, Qualcomm, and others. The company is also known for its advanced chip technology and generally charges a fees 20 percent higher than its rivals.

Although, due to the shortage in semiconductors and TSMC running on full capacity, smaller foundries have also ramped up their own pricing due to high demands. These higher prices are due to a number of factors like higher material, logistics costs, and even the race between brands to acquire a steady chip supply. Notably, the Taiwanese chipmaker was slower than most other foundries in raising its prices, but that can also be attributed to the premium that it already charges.

A major implication of the rising price of semiconductors is the hike in cost of consumer electronic products like smartphones. Apple is a major client for TSMC, so rising prices might affect its iPhones and iPads as well. But, the Cupertino based brand could offset some of these costs due to its relation with the chipmaker as a major client.

Apple warns about chip shortage impacting iPhone production

Jeet — Fri, 30 Jul 2021 02:17:34 +0000

Global chip shortage has become a serious issue for everything related to technology. While the shortage was impacting automakers initially, it is now also making a dent in the business of consumer electronics makers.

As the global chip shortage is hitting the smartphone industry, Apple has said that it could affect iPhone production and the company has also forecasted slowing revenue growth. This will also impact the tech giant’s services business.

Apple executives said that the revenue for the current fiscal fourth quarter will grow by double-digits but be below the 36.4% growth rate in the just-ended third quarter. They added that while the impact of the chip shortage was less severe than feared in the third quarter, it will get worse in the fourth, extending to iPhone production.

Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, said that chips affected by the shortages are made using older technology but those are still vital as supporting parts for making iPhones. Analysts believed that Apple could be stockpiling chips for its next-generation iPhone models.

There are several reasons behind the global shortage of chips, including factory closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic and increased demand for consumer electronics products during the lock-down and Work from Home setups.

The situation is not as bad for Samsung and Apple as with smaller phone manufacturers. HMD Global, which makes Nokia-branded devices, has warned that the semiconductor shortage could prove challenging for smaller device makers.

Reports indicate that many players in the mobile phone industry are struggling to procure a variety of semiconductors, including the struggle for sourcing power-management chips, display drivers, application processors, in addition to 4G and 5G chipsets.

China chip imports surges in June as firms stock up amid global shortage

Sean — Wed, 14 Jul 2021 09:21:36 +0000

Semiconductor imports in China have maintained its growth momentum in June 2021. The region noted high imports to meet the massive demand of integrated circuits (IC) of the country for the production of automobiles, smartphones, home appliances, and much more.

According to an SCMP report, China imported 51.9 billion semiconductor devices in the month of June alone. This was the third largest volume in a single month, which arrives as the region saw a record high back in March of this year. April 2021 also saw strong imports this year, as per information released by the country’s customs administration earlier this week. Notably, the high figures also arrive as local firms stocked up on semiconductors across various industries amid the ongoing global shortage of chips.

The report further added that chipsets are still the products with the largest volume of imports in China, with the country spending a total of 38 billion US Dollars to import semiconductors in June 2021. To put things into perspective, this figure was almost double the cost of the region’s crude oil shipments in the same period. Additionally, the country also imported more than 310 billion semiconductor devices in the first six months of this year.

This marked a sizeable increase of 29 percent from the same period from back in 2020. During this time, the nation increased its imports from chip foundries, especially from Taiwan, amid the global semiconductor shortage. The supply would enable the region and its local manufacturers to ramp up the production of cars, smartphones, home appliances, and various other consumer electronic products as well.

Global chip shortage worsens as wait times hit record 18 weeks

Sean — Wed, 23 Jun 2021 08:41:58 +0000

The semiconductor shortage issue has already affected various industries across the globe. Now, the situation has apparently worsened as wait times for chips have hit a record high of 18 weeks.

According to a Bloomberg report, automobile makers and consumer electronics based brand have to wait even longer for components since delays in filling orders continue to worsen. The lead times for chips, which is the gap between ordering a semiconductor and receiving the delivery, have risen from just a single week to a whopping 18 weeks back in May 2021. This is an indicator that chip makers are currently struggling to keep up with the demand.

Furthermore, the wait times are the longest since 2017, with the peak being four weeks back in 2018. The report added that power management chips that regulate the flow of electricity in machines and consumer electronic products are a primary reason for the overall increase in delivery periods. The lead times for this chip hit a significant 25.6 weeks, which is nearly two weeks longer than a month before.

Chris Rolland, an analyst from Susquehanna Financial Group, added that “The broad based nature of the shortages is highlighted by the data, as most key product categories (power management, discretes, analogs, passives) have seen LT expansion.” The rising demand also suggests of the panic buying from vendors across the globe that are ordering too much, which has further worsened the situation, as per Rolland.

Cargo thieves cart away Chips worth HK$5m ($644K) while in transit in Hong Kong

Jed John Ikoba — Fri, 18 Jun 2021 15:43:27 +0000

The global chip shortage isn’t going away soon, according to a recent report. As manufacturers jostle for the limited supply of chips, the shortage is about taking a new dimension. News emanating from Hong Kong indicates that cargo thieves are beginning to target the chip supply chain.

According to a Hong Kong-based media Wen Wei Po report, cargo thieves intercepted a batch of chip that was to be delivered. The report hinted that the robbery occurred in Tuen Mun, Hong Kong around 3 pm on June 16. A logistics company was hired to deliver a batch of high-priced electronic chips (14 boxes) worth about HK$5 million (~$644,000) to the manufacturer’s warehouse.

Interestingly, the chip was only being transferred to a warehouse on the 8th floor of the same industrial building. The truck driver assistant was accosted in the elevator by three men who attacked him as soon as the elevator door closed, leaving him with some degree of injuries. The boy notified his colleagues who then called the police but the thieves could not be tracked down despite the police mounting roadblocks on major arterial roads around the crime site.

Earlier this month, a research report by market analysis firm “TrendForce Consulting” showed that the semiconductor industry has benefitted tremendously from the rising demand for a number of terminal applications, leading to an increase in their stock prices. The increase in demand compared to supply has also led to a rise in the prices of wafer and adjustment to the product mix to ensure profitability. The high demand could lead to an increase in the theft of chip cargoes and thus, foundries may need to increase their security level.

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Global Smartphone shipments to rise by 12% in 2021, despite supply issues: Report

Sean — Tue, 15 Jun 2021 09:22:20 +0000

A new report has revealed that the global smartphone market is expected to see a growth in shipments this year. The projected growth is around 12 percent, with total shipment figures reaching 1.4 bllion units.

According to a Canalys report, the growth in smartphone shipments is indicative of the strong recovery of the market from last year. During 2020, the shipments of handset fell by 7 percent due to the severe market constraints caused by the Coronavirus pandemic. But with the world recovering from the pandemic and vaccines being rolled out, the issue with supply of components will emerge as the new bottleneck for the smartphone industry.

As per Canalys Research Manager Ben Stanton, “The smartphone industry’s resilience is quite incredible.” He further added that “There is strong momentum behind 5G handsets, which accounted for 37% of global shipments in Q1, and are expected to account for 43% for the full year (610 million units). This will be driven by intense price competition between vendors, with many sacrificing other features, such as display or power, to accommodate 5G in the cheapest device possible. By the end of the year, 32% of all 5G devices shipped will have cost less than US$300. It is time for mass adoption.”

Although, the supply constraints for components wil limit the grwoth potential of smartphone shipments this year. For those unaware, the world is suffering from a major shortage of semiconductors and certain component materials at the moment. This has led to a build of backorders and “The industry is fighting for semiconductors, and every brand will feel the pinch,” Stanton added.

Canalys VP of Mobility Nicole Peng stated that “The other angle to this is pricing. As key components, such as chipsets and memory, increase in price, smartphone vendors must decide whether to absorb that cost or pass it on to consumers.” Furthermore, the report added that the pandemic even caused permanent changes in the market, with channels transforming having to adapt or die during the pandemic.

Semiconductor shortage leads to rise in prices of electronic gadgets

Sean — Fri, 04 Jun 2021 09:35:41 +0000

The global shortage of semiconductors has already impacted various industries like automobiles. This has now further spread to affect downstream markets like the consumer electronic segments including personal computers, smartphones, and even home appliances as well, causing a hike in price across every sector.

According to a ChinaDaily report, these markets are already seeing price adjustments since the beginning of this year. The news based on a Business Herald report added that the average shipment prices for laptops in China rose by 6.1 percent in the first quarter of this year, compared to the previous quarter. Liu Jun, president of Lenovo‘s China branch stated in a financial briefing that “The PC industry is expected to witness price increases throughout the whole year.”

IDC Researcher Jitesh Ubrani further added that the “market continues to struggle with setbacks including component shortages and logistics issues, each of which has contributed to an increase in average selling prices.” Notably, certain models like the Huawei MateBook lineup saw prices going up by anywhere between 300 to 600 Yuan (roughly 47 to 94 US Dollars) from a few months prior. PC making brands like Acer, ASUS, and Lenovo have had to raise prices for their laptops due to the chip shortages.

The statistics revealed that over 30 companies in the semiconductor industry have adjusted their price since the second quarter, with a price hike in the range of 10 to 30 percent. Ryan Reith, IDC program vice president, said that “The ongoing shortages in the semiconductor space only further prolong the ability for vendors to refill inventory and fulfill orders to customers.” Despite the shortage, the global semiconductor revenue grew to 464 billion US Dollars last year.

Intel CEO now believes that Chip Shortage could last for years

Sean — Mon, 31 May 2021 07:51:42 +0000

The CEO of Intel has reiterated that the chip shortage that the world is suffering from, could last for far longer than previously estimated. The executive stated that the shortage of semiconductors worldwide could even go on for several years.

Previously, we had reported on the CEO stating that the chip shortage would last at least for another two years. Now, Pat Gelsinger has added that this issue could stretch for much longer. According to a Reuters report, the senior official told a virtual session of the Computex Trade show in Taipei that the remote working and online education trend caused by the Coronavirus pandemic has led to a “cycle of explosive growth in semiconductors.”

This has caused a massive strain on existing global supply chains. “But while the industry has taken steps to address near term constraints it could still take a couple of years for the ecosystem to address shortages of foundry capacity, substrates and components,” he further added. Gelsinger had previously made this statement back in April, saying that the semiconductor shortage could last for a “couple of years.” Although, he stated that “We plan to expand to other locations in the U.S. and Europe, ensuring a sustainable and secure semiconductor supply chain for the world.”

Interestingly, the CEO of Logitech (Bracken Darrell) also weighed in regarding the global chip shortage stating that the company is facing supply issues that could last another three to six months. Further adding that some industries could face this issue up to another year. Darrell said that “Like others, we have felt the shortages, but we have been able to cushion them well. It takes time to ramp up production but in the meantime, prices have also adjusted.”

Xiaomi, Oppo, Realme, and other Chinese brands further slash shipment goals

Sean — Thu, 27 May 2021 11:41:44 +0000

Chinese smartphone manufacturers have apparently lowered their handset shipment goals for 2021 again. This reportedly includes major brands like Xiaomi, Oppo, Realme, and Honor, which have already lowered their targets earlier this month.

According to a DigiTimes report, industry sources close to the matter have revealed that these brands further lowered their smartphone shipment goals for the year 2021. There are multiple factors that have led smartphone makers from China to lower their shipment goals, which include supply issues with materials and even the global chip shortage that has impacted various industries across the globe. For those unaware, the semiconductor shortage has already impacted industries like automobiles, PCs, home appliances, and even smartphones.

Another notable factor includes the resurgence of Coronavirus in key regions like India, which is suffering from the impacts of the second wave of COVID-19. The smartphone market in the country was recovering but it seems to on the decline again. Kiranjeet Kaur, a senior research manager at IDC added that “People are not venturing outside their home unless they absolutely need to. Online retailers are only providing essentials, and smartphones are not considered an essential.”

India has been a crucial market for smartphone brands like Xiaomi, Oppo, Realme, and others. Thus, declining sales in the region will impact the overall sales of these companies. Notably, Xiaomi was the leading smartphone brand in the region, annually shipping over 41 million units in 2020. In a statement, Realme said that “Our current business development is affected to a certain extent, but as the situation hopefully improves, we are confident that we will be able to recover quickly.”

US could build up to 10 new chip plants with $52 billion proposed funding

Sean — Tue, 25 May 2021 07:40:36 +0000

Gina Raimondo, the US Commerce Secretary proposed a new 52 billion US Dollar funding that will boost the government’s efforts for semiconductor production and research and might even lead to seven to ten new chip factories.

According to a Reuters report, the government official proposed the funding earlier this week in an event outside of Micron Tech’s chip factory. Raimondo believes that the government could generate a “150 billion US Dollar plus” investment in chip production and research. The investment would also include contributions from state and federal governments and even private sectors as well. She further added that “We just need the federal money to unlock private capital. It could be seven, could be eight, could be nine, could be 10 new factories in America by the time we’re done.”

Furthermore, Raimondo expects that different states will compete for federal funding for chip facilities, while the Commerce Department would run a transparent process for awarding the funds. For those unaware, the proposal from the Secretary arrives as the world is facing a major shortage of semiconductors. This has led various governments to scramble for chip supplies and even invest locally to build new plants, including the like of the US and even the European regions.

The chip shortage has already caused a supply issue in various industries like automobiles, smartphones, home appliances, and others. Similarly, US Senator Mark Warner also stated that he believed the funds could help build around “seven to 10” new plants, although, “This is not going to solve this overnight. It will take years for the Commerce Department to make these investments.”

Xiaomi Exec: Global chip shortage could optimistically ease up by H1 2021

Sean — Thu, 20 May 2021 08:46:00 +0000

Lu Weibing, the Xiaomi President and Redmi General Manager, said that the global chip shortage that has affected various industries across the globe could optimistically end by the first half of next year.

As per the senior executive post on Weibo, a Chinese microblogging website, the major shortage of semiconductors is not a short term issue. He further added that it is impossible for the supply shortage for chips to be resolved within this year. Lu Weibing believes that even if one is being optimistic, the shortage will only ease up within the first half of 2021. For those unaware, the world is currently facing a major supply issue of semiconductors that has affected various industries.

This has impacted shipments of automobiles from car makers as they need chips for their cars, while even the smartphone and home appliance vendors are facing issues with chip supply for their electronic products. The official from the Chinese tech giant is also set to discuss the global semiconductor shortage in a public speech later this month on 26th May 2021.

Lu Weibing also believes that the chip shortage is also indicative of the growth in demand for 5G processors in smartphones, along with the growing need for high performance computing and even surge in popularity of smart cars and other smart internet of thing products as well. Meaning, supply has to catch up with the explosive demand that foundries are seeing all across the world for different industries.

Europe’s 2nd largest chipmaker STM to raise prices from June 1 due to material shortage

Sean — Wed, 19 May 2021 09:06:34 +0000

The second largest chipmaker in Europe, STM (STMicroelectronics) has announced that it would be raising the prices of its products across the line starting from 1st June 2021. This announcement was shared earlier this week, as the firm claims that it is facing issues with the procurement of materials.

STMicroelectronics Headquarters, Geneva, Switzerland

Reportedly, the price hike arrives as the cost of materials has also risen along with the surge in demand amid the growing global shortage of semiconductors. STM added that “Semiconductor demand is currently reaching unprecedented heights, leading to major challenges in meeting orders despite our significant capital investment.” The chipmaking giant also shared a statement that was cosigned by Collins Wu, the regional vice president for the Asia Pacific region.

For those unaware, the firm is based in Switzerland and specializes in making power discrete devices and microcontrollers units (MCU) for automotive applications. But now, the company is struggling to secure materials suppliers, as the suppliers themselves are struggling to meet customer demand due to the semiconductor shortage. This has led to “cost increases and more aggressive commercial terms to maintain our supply of these scarce materials.”

Furthermore, the hike in price is supposedly not a short term surge as it is expected to be sustained for at least another year or two. This situation is also further worsened by the already stretched 6 to 12 month long lead times that are required for capacity expansion at foundries like TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker.

Taiwan promises chip supply as shortage nears ‘Danger Zone’ with record wait times

Sean — Wed, 19 May 2021 08:06:05 +0000

The world is currently facing a chip crisis, with semiconductor shortages affecting industries and economies across the globe. Now, the chip shortage has neared the ‘Danger Zone’ as wait times for shipments have reached a new record high, but Taiwan promises to keep supplying chips across the globe.

According to a Bloomberg report, the chip shortage has even hampered recovery of economies post the Coronavirus pandemic and has caused a major gap between chip orders and deliveries. At the moment, the wait times have reached a whpping 17 weeks in back in April 2021. This is indicative of the fact the clients are struggling to secure a stable supply, as per a research by Susquehanna Financial Group. The 17 weeks lead time is the highest the group has ever recorded and has even marked the situation as the ‘danger zone.’

Amid this crisis, the Taiwanese government has pledged to work on providing the world with a steady chip supply despite the growth of the COVID-19 pandemic. Notably, the government also adjusted its GDP projections for this year, raising it by 4.64 percent in preparation of a global ‘scramble for semiconductors’ that will cause a surge in exports, as per an SCMP report.

Currently, the global chip shortage has affected variou indutries including automobiles, smartphone, home applicances, and other as well. Just in this year alone, automakers are expected to lose out on a reported 110 billion US Dollars in sales. So, it remains to be seen how the situation plays out as many chip makers are rushing to start the operations of new chip plants to raise chip supply in various regions.