[OPLIN 4cast] OPLIN 4Cast #750: All industries scramble under the microchip shortage

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OPLIN 4Cast #750: All industries scramble under the microchip shortage
May 12th, 2021

[image: Empty shelves] Last year as the pandemic accelerated, car
manufacturers anticipated a slump in new sales, so they scaled back their
orders for the microchips that are increasingly necessary to support the
advanced features in new vehicles. Instead they found that sales grew, but
they were unable to get their hands on the chips they need. Reduced
shipping capacity, a drought in Taiwan (factories need water), a fire at a
major Japanese chip maker, trade tensions with China...all these have
exacerbated the problem. There's an additional difficulty in that the auto
industry does not use the most advanced chips, but chip makers can't easily
switch between fabbing yesterday's microprocessors and tomorrow's.

   -
   - Chip Shortage Forces Carmakers to Leave Out Some High-End Features
   <https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-06/chip-shortage-forces-carmakers-to-strip-out-high-tech-features>
   [*Bloomberg*] "For decades, carmakers moved steadily to include more and
   better advanced features; now, they’re stripping some of them out -- at
   least temporarily -- to salvage their sales."
   - Nintendo warns global chip shortage to hit Switch production
   <https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2021/05/nintendo-warns-global-chip-shortage-to-hit-switch-production/>
   [*Ars Technica*] "Worries over the potential hit from chip shortages are
   broadening. The initial focus of concern was the automotive industry, but
   analysts see a wider range of manufacturers being affected."
   - The GPU Shortage Deepened My Existential Dread
   <https://www.wired.com/story/gpu-shortage-existential-dread-nothing-matters/>
   [*Wired*] "Multiple factors prompted the graphics card shortage,
   beginning with manufacturing and shipping delays during the onset of the
   pandemic. Just as supply dropped, demand increased exponentially as people
   who were stuck at home turned to online gaming for entertainment and
   connection."
   - Why the Chip Shortage Is So Hard to Overcome
   <https://www.wsj.com/articles/why-the-chip-shortage-is-so-hard-to-overcome-11618844905>
   [*Wall Street Journal*] "Semiconductor producers are trying to increase
   output, but the small gains are unlikely to fix the shortfalls hampering
   production of everything from cars to home appliances to PCs."

*From the Ohio Web Library <http://ohioweblibrary.org>:*

   - Simon, Michael. “Devastating Chip Shortages Could Also Hit Smartphones
   Soon
   <https://search-ebscohost-com.proxy.oplin.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=buh&AN=150031230&site=ehost-live>
   .” *PCWorld*, vol. 39, no. 5, May 2021, pp. 24–25.
   - Taylor, Emily. “How COVID, Climate Change and Trump Created a Global
   Chip Shortage
   <https://search-ebscohost-com.proxy.oplin.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=149897562&site=ehost-live>
   .” *World Politics Review (Selective Content)*, Mar. 2021, p. 1.
   - Cardoso, Bill. “The Dark Side of the Chip Shortage--Counterfeits
   <https://search-ebscohost-com.proxy.oplin.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=buh&AN=149143272&site=ehost-live>
   .” *SMT: Surface Mount Technology*, Mar. 2021, pp. 70–73.

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