Business News

The global shortage of chips extends to toasters and washing machines

[ad_1]

According to Asian suppliers, the deepening of the global chip is spreading to manufacturers of telephones, televisions and home appliances as they push the semiconductor storage required by companies.

Chip supply has hardened due to high demand for electronics in the Covid-19 pandemic interruptions in large production facilities.

But the shortage has skewed the punishments hit the Chinese team, which has made it difficult for some companies to secure components for everyday electronics, such as washing machines and toasters.

Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics of South Korea are among the groups affected by manufacturing delays expected by 2022.

Samsung began reducing orders for some smartphone components in a month, according to its two major parts makers, after the world’s largest computer chip maker he warned in March semiconductors “severe supply and demand imbalance.”

“There are few application processors, screen controllers and camera sensors. As a result, we are seeing Samsung’s orders fall in the last quarter, “a major smartphone parts supplier told the Korean company.

Koh Dong-jin, chief executive and head of Samsung’s mobile business, has warned of potential problems in the second quarter due to chip shortages. He said last month that the company will have to postpone the launch of the high-end phone until next year. Samsung is also a major chip maker through the foundry business.

Major home appliance maker LG said the chip shortage has not yet halted production, but has acknowledged that it is a risk. “We are monitoring the situation closely because a manufacturer cannot get rid of the problem if it is prolonged,” the company said.

A small TV manufacturer in Seoul said: “Securing device components is more difficult unless we pay higher prices. We need to raise TV prices, reflecting rising material costs.”

It has led to simple tasks such as the production of low-margin processors, the weighing of clothes in the washing machine, or the toasting of bread in a smart toaster.

“Microcontroller units have a tight supply, which can affect overall devices,” said Randy Abrams, head of Asian semiconductor research at Credit Suisse.

The production of these chips used in household appliances has ended up in the back of the queue, as manufacturers distribute power high margin products, an industry insider said.

South Korean foundries said they could not do so even when they were in full power to comply with the rising orders.

“Customer requests for chips used in smartphones, TVs and other appliances are exceeding our capacity,” said an official at DB HiTek, which makes chips used on Apple’s iPads. “Display driver chips, power management chips and image sensors are mostly few.”

The shortage has prompted companies to place orders with multiple chip manufacturers, a phenomenon known as the “double reserve,” a sector official said.

The official added that the Chinese crisis has been exacerbated by aggressive storage by Chinese companies as they prepare themselves for more sanctions as Washington seeks to thwart Beijing’s 5G intentions.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, which carries more than full capacity, expects the chip shortage to last until 2022. The company will invest $ 100 billion over three years to expand its capacity.

Nanya Technology, Taiwan’s leading manufacturer of memory chips, on Tuesday announced plans to build a $ 10 billion plant in the country to alleviate the shortage and capture growing demand for 5G-related components.

However, analysts believe that the shortfall could end as soon as the pandemic recedes if electronics spending disappears.

Investors “will know the amount of the demand profile and what the ghost is,” semiconductor analyst Stacy Rasgon Bernstein wrote in a note.

Weekly newsletter

Billions of crucial guides to what is being done and lost in the Asia Tech world. Exclusive news, clean analysis, smart data and a buzz menu of the latest technology from FT and Nikkei

Register here with a click

[ad_2]

Source link

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to top button