More chip shortage woes

[HotdogThud]

looks like it's hitting GM in new and fun ways:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-gm-semiconductors-idUSKBN2B71P5

Sponsored

 

[Apples]

No word on whether they could install it later either. I guess, stay away from GM pickups this year ....

 

[HotdogThud]

I wouldn't buy a GM product anyways, but I can't imagine that this is affecting *just* GM

 

[Petey]

Does this mean I’m not getting my $100k electric Hummer this year?

 

[JMV123]

Everyone except Toyota who stock piled chips after the Fukushima disaster.

 

[Dom]

All of semiconductor was running through the pandemic, but a lot of companies did lower their production rates due to the uncertainty in the market. This shortage should be very temporary. Most chip manufactures that slowed production will be able to ramp back up quickly.

 

[mds5917]

A lot of this is to be credited (blamed) to the extreme demand for high performance graphics boards (gaming systems, bitcoin mining...) coupled with component supply chain, trade wars, covid and other items. As noted, Toyota (and also Hyundai) had foreseen some of this and stockpiled, but most have been caught flat-footed. Chip manufacturers make a LOT more money on new designs for high end computing power vs the old chips that typically enable various subsystems on cars.

Not likely this is going to be a quick resolution, and it is likely to hit our Broncos as well as all other cars/manufacturers for a while. This article is a couple weeks old, but these have been running from virtually every news source since at least December in one form or another.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/03/01/semiconductor-shortage-halts-auto-factories/

 

[RBF 1401]

Teacher perspective here:

NEARLY EVERY KID in the U.S. this past year had to do school from a computer or tablet at some point. And families with multiple kids often needed multiple computers. And families without computers often got loaned laptops or tablets that school districts suddenly all bought in HUGE quantities with CARES Act funds.

The enormous quantity of tech that was purchased just by schools was staggering, not even counting what teachers bought with their own money! I personally bought a new phone and a new tablet because I had to teach from home and the laptops the school was purchasing were delayed due to demand. Most of my colleagues bought new computers and web cams and headsets and all sorts of tech.

Add to that all the people and companies who worked from home part of the year. Massive amounts of computer chip products purchased at a time when most production of goods had to be scaled back.

I will be sad if computer chips add another delay to my Bronco, but not the least bit surprised.

 

[Broncodave]

This shortage should be very temporary. Most chip manufactures that slowed production will be able to ramp back up quickly.

That goes against everything I've been reading. Unless by "quickly" you mean 1st quarter of 2022. (edit: Well, maybe 4th quarter of 2021).

 

[Used2jeep]

looks like it's hitting GM in new and fun ways:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-gm-semiconductors-idUSKBN2B71P5

Would hope that the buyers of those vehicles would get them installed at no charge when supplies come back. I doubt it though.

 

[BroncoBuckaroo]

Does this mean I’m not getting my $100k electric Hummer this year?

I think a chinese company now owns the hummer, no longer GM

https://www.wmcactionnews5.com/story/11288557/iconic-hummer-brand-sold-to-chinese-manufacturer/

 

[Dom]

That goes against everything I've been reading. Unless by "quickly" you mean 1st quarter of 2022.

I could be wrong about the timing. I am just going by my company and the various other semiconductor companies I have friends at. Most of the semiconductor industry slowed down production last year, but kept employees and the tooling necessary to ramp back up. That is really what I am basing my assumption on. We're all ramping up trying to meet demand, so that is a good thing.

 

[Broncodave]

"Now the automotive industry is realizing it’s a lower priority than the electronics companies at the foundries. In 2020, only 3% of TSMC’s sales were from automotive chips, compared to 48% for smartphones.

Tech companies are “the volume guys. They have higher margins. And they never cut down their orders and have long-term contracts with the foundries,” Gupta said. “Now that this auto demand peaked faster that the OEMs had expected, autos can’t get back in the queue.”

The foundries are aware of the issue. TSMC, which is seen as the most advanced and important foundry, said that it was trying to help the auto companies, and said it would spend as much as $28 billion this year to increase its capacity.

“While our capacity is fully utilized with demand from every sector, TSMC is reallocating our wafer capacity to support the worldwide automotive industry,” TSMC said in a statement in January.

Car manufacturers also use automotive-grade chips, which are painstakingly “qualified” against binders of industry standards to make sure they’re durable and reliable. “It is more difficult for the industry to alternatively transition its production lines and supply chains elsewhere,” Trendforce, a consulting group covering the semiconductor industry, wrote in a report last month."

 

[Broncodave]

"The shortage will eventually resolve itself, but Mr. Amsrud predicts the situation won’t start to improve until the third quarter of this year or later. Over the longer term, the shortage might cause some chip companies to rethink their outsourcing practices. For now, though, car companies will need to make do with what they can get. Semiconductor manufacturing doesn’t have a lot of higher gears."

 

[Vigor]

Teacher perspective here:

NEARLY EVERY KID in the U.S. this past year had to do school from a computer or tablet at some point. And families with multiple kids often needed multiple computers. And families without computers often got loaned laptops or tablets that school districts suddenly all bought in HUGE quantities with CARES Act funds.

The enormous quantity of tech that was purchased just by schools was staggering, not even counting what teachers bought with their own money! I personally bought a new phone and a new tablet because I had to teach from home and the laptops the school was purchasing were delayed due to demand. Most of my colleagues bought new computers and web cams and headsets and all sorts of tech.

Add to that all the people and companies who worked from home part of the year. Massive amounts of computer chip products purchased at a time when most production of goods had to be scaled back.

I will be sad if computer chips add another delay to my Bronco, but not the least bit surprised.

Off topic. But you're bound to be the coolest teacher at your school, driving up in a Bronco!

Sponsored