From automobile manufacturing to consumer electronics, chip shortage has become a major global problem. Chip delivery time reached 18 weeks in May, the longest since tracking data began in 2017, according to Susquehanna Financial Group, a US trading broker.
According to its research, the chip delivery time in May, the time difference between ordering semiconductors and delivery, increased by seven days from the previous month to 18 weeks, indicating that the difficulty for chipmakers to meet demand is getting worse. The delivery time is the longest since the agency began tracking the data in 2017, more than four weeks higher than the previous peak in 2018.
Of all types of chips, power management chips, semiconductors that regulate currents ranging from industrial machinery to smartphones, are the main drag on overall delivery time. The delivery time for such chips reached 25.6 weeks, nearly two weeks longer than in April. Even so, shortages in other areas are widespread.
"the data highlight the wide range of chip shortages, as delivery deadlines have been extended in most key product categories (power management, discrete devices, analog devices, passive components)." Chris Rolland, an analyst at Susquehanna, wrote.
The supply of chips in some areas has begun to catch up with demand.
Investors generally focus on delivery times for clues to demand trends, but it may also indicate that chip users may be panicking into overordering, which further means that the industry will soon be oversupplied. Rolland said he was concerned that demand for terminal electronics would not be sufficient to support current chip order levels.
Although Broadcom (Broadcom Inc.), NXP Semiconductors NV, STMicroelectronics (STMicroelectronics NV) and Texas Instruments (Texas Instruments Inc.) The overall delivery time of the company has been extended, but supply in some areas has begun to catch up with demand.
The microcontroller (MCU), a small processor that guides everything from cars to washing machines, reduced delivery time by more than a week, Rolland wrote. The one-dollar microchip is having the most serious impact on the world, according to the Financial Associated Press.
According to Susquehanna, delivery time for analog chips-chips that convert real-world phenomena such as touch and sound into electronic signals-has increased, but the delay has slowed.
Susquehanna also said that optoelectronic components, chips that help convert solar energy into electricity on solar panels, are becoming increasingly difficult to obtain.
The automobile industry is the biggest victim.
Most of the companies listed in the report regard automakers as their main customers. The area most affected by the shortage of semiconductors is also the automotive industry, which is expected to lose more than $100 billion in sales.
Other areas are also feeling the pressure, and many electronics manufacturers, including big companies such as Apple, are unable to meet all the demand for their products.
Some chipmaker executives, such as Hock Tan, chief executive of Broadcom (Broadcom), warn against reading too much into the surge in delivery times. They see the extension as proof that their customers have a better understanding of the semiconductor industry and a new willingness to order and are willing to sign long-term supply agreements that cannot be cancelled.
A number of previous reports by the Financial Associated Press pointed out that at present, countries and industrialists around the world have increased their investment in chips. The US Senate last week introduced a 25 per cent tax credit for semiconductor investment, following a $52 billion spending bill for the chip industry.
Hubert Aiwanger, the economy minister of the German state of Bavaria, said last week that the state was in talks with Intel to build a chip factory.
In addition, according to the latest report, the US chip giant GE Core has invested more than US $6 billion to expand production capacity in Singapore and other places. There are signs that the global race in the chip sector is intensifying.
