Depending on various product categories like mobile devices, ICE, electric vehicles, appliances, data centres, chip shortage might last anywhere between four months to a year, or perhaps even two years, according to leading microchip providers Qualcomm and Intel.
Intel’s view was endorsed by chip design company Qualcomm, which gets the product manufactured by fab companies like Samsung. It also said that the shortage was due to the unprecedented surge in demand during the pandemic.
Prakash Mallya, MD, Intel India and Vice President, Sales and Marketing and Communications Group, said the spike in demand was huge, and cut across segments from PCs, phones, appliances and auto leading to the shortage.
At the same time, Qualcomm India President Rajen Vagadia said everyone knew the shortage was the result of a sudden surge in demand during the pandemic.
Intel saw its stock tumbling by more than 8 per cent after the chip maker said the industry-wide component shortage affected its PC chip business during the third quarter. Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger said he didn't expect the semiconductor shortage to end until 2023.
According to the Federation of Automobile Dealers Association (FADA), vehicle retail sales have declined by 5.7% in September as compared to the same period last year. Due to the shortage, the association has cut down the growth projections of auto components. The vehicle inventory with dealers has sunk to a new low.
