The US government does not expect the chip crisis to ease quickly, despite expansion plans.
(Photo: AP)
new York The US government under President Joe Biden assumes that the global semiconductor shortage will last at least until the second half of 2022. The burdens on the economy, especially for the automotive industry and consumer electronics, continue.
“We’re nowhere near over the hill on the semiconductor supply issues,” US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said on Tuesday. Your assessment is based on an industry survey of more than 150 companies from the chip supply chain prepared by your ministry.
Raimondo wants to investigate the allegations of possible price fixing for chip components: During the current supply bottlenecks, “unusually high prices” were asked. According to the minister, intermediaries have asked exorbitant prices, especially in the automotive and medical technology sectors.
In the USA, the intermediaries between electronics companies and semiconductor manufacturers are suspected of having enriched themselves from the supply crisis. Companies like Texas Instruments have therefore started to establish direct relationships with the chip producers.
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The government report does not see any hoarding of the components to drive up prices, as some observers suspect. According to Raimondo, the average inventory at the companies surveyed is only sufficient for five days of production. Before the crisis, the supply was sufficient for an average of 40 days.
The shortage of chips has boosted the prices of numerous consumer goods and is one of the main reasons for the high US inflation of seven percent recently. She’s pressuring President Biden ahead of the November midterm elections. The White House does not see a short-term way to end the crisis. The minister explained that what is needed is an intensified exchange between chip manufacturers and buyers and the construction of their own factories in the USA.
The manufacturer Intel is already planning to build two gigantic production facilities in Ohio with an investment volume of 20 billion dollars. Intel also wants to set up or expand production in Germany, France and Italy.
Falling car production
The auto industry is particularly affected by the crisis. According to estimates, more than ten million cars could not be produced worldwide in 2021 due to the lack of semiconductors. This is likely to continue in 2022. “We’re seeing some relief for manufacturers, but the problem isn’t going away any time soon,” said analyst Sam Fiorani of US consultancy Autoforecast Solutions. New capacity would be built in the chip factories, but: “It will take another two or three years before this affects the supply.”
The delivery bottleneck has already prompted Ford to cut production: In February, it is expected to drop by 150,000 vehicles to around 700,000. Toyota North America also assumes that February production will fall by 25,000 to 35,000 vehicles, reports the industry magazine “Automotive News”.
In the USA, the crisis is having a significant impact on the automobile market. There is practically no stock of used vehicles any more, new vehicles are often only available with a surcharge and after a long wait. However, this is not exclusively a disadvantage for the companies: Since the car manufacturers have concentrated on higher-priced models when supplying chips, these are now predominantly available. As a result, the margins of the major US producers per car sold have risen across the board.
With material from Bloomberg.
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