Shortage of components: why there is hope (and already for the best)

The electronic components crisis is experiencing a new twist and suggests some glimmers of hope in the future of the computer market.

The hardware shortage affecting chips, smartphones and other electronic parts is far from over. Although foundries have gone into overdrive in 2021, increasing their production capacities, their products will not be available on the market until 2023. However, the drop in demand for certain components of desktop and laptop computers could mitigate partially this lack.

A continuing shortage

The COVID-19 pandemic has indeed disrupted the electronics industry, leading to an unprecedented economic crisis. Since sanitary conditions have forced companies to partially or totally switch to teleworking, the demand for computer equipment has exploded. Result: chips, graphics cards, processors and other essential components for this market have been affected by a shortage since 2020.

So far, a good number of components are still missing. Among the products most affected by this crisis are entry-level PCIe 3.0 SSDs, the latest Intel Core Alder Lake 12^and generation as well as other recent computer parts. All these components now have a delivery time of between 8 and 12 weeks.

The situation is even more critical for smartphone components. The 4G SoC mobile processor, the LAN chips and the new generation of DDIC OLED displays in particular have a delivery time of up to 40 weeks. This lack would reduce sales of mobile products by 13%.

A glimmer of hope looms

The horizon is finally clearing up for this shortage. Indeed, since November 2021, the lack of parts needed for computers has decreased significantly. This phenomenon has allowed the MDGs (Original Design Manufacturer) to increase their PC sales at the end of the year. Even better, this demand is expected to decline further in the first quarter of 2022, leading to an eventual 5.1% drop in laptop shipments, according to the outlet. trendforce.

In other good news, the chip supply is slowly starting to stabilize. Nevertheless, the unequal distribution of resources in the electronics sector remains one of the main causes of the restriction in the supply of computers.

Source: Tom’s Hardware