Nice article here from Time on the semi shortage
Can We Fix the Semiconductor Shortage in the U.S.? | Time
Good to see the wider world is waking up to the fact that they only enjoy their modern life because of this stuff
🙂
Can We Fix the Semiconductor Shortage in the U.S.? | Time
Good to see the wider world is waking up to the fact that they only enjoy their modern life because of this stuff
🙂
Last edited:
Several big chip package and test factories in Malaysia are shutdown to control virus spread for a few weeks. The fabs are mostly in the USA
Lol -- I was amused by the "I've never seen anything like it"... There's someone who has not been in the electronics industry for long!
The article was over focussed on the car industry I thought - shortages are not just in semis, or just affecting cars. Failed to mention the fab fires too - the Renesas one being very relevant to cars.
Current shortages are across passives, semis - and in other places like building supplies.
Cement is like gold dust I hear!
However - usually these events clear before the 60+ week leadtimes currently being quoted on some stuff actually times out. There will be a lot of dulplicate orders out there if past events are anything to go by, and once all the fabs fully ramp back up...
But it does show the downside of all the just-in-time concepts in use - that creates a very fragile system
The article was over focussed on the car industry I thought - shortages are not just in semis, or just affecting cars. Failed to mention the fab fires too - the Renesas one being very relevant to cars.
Current shortages are across passives, semis - and in other places like building supplies.
Cement is like gold dust I hear!
However - usually these events clear before the 60+ week leadtimes currently being quoted on some stuff actually times out. There will be a lot of dulplicate orders out there if past events are anything to go by, and once all the fabs fully ramp back up...
But it does show the downside of all the just-in-time concepts in use - that creates a very fragile system
The state of modern journalism -- the author considers sulfuric acid and argon to be "specialty chemicals".
US Government attempted to leapfrog the semi industry with an enormous investment in the late 1970's. When the plant was opened the technology was already obsolete.
US Government attempted to leapfrog the semi industry with an enormous investment in the late 1970's. When the plant was opened the technology was already obsolete.
The Taiwan government invested heavily in TSMC in the early days to jump start the industry there and I think it was a good call. Once Morris Chang got going and the fabless model took hold, they never looked back. I visited the TSMC campus in Hsinchu a few times and what's amazing to me is that a small country in Asia is a (the) global centre of excellence for high volume, bleeding edge semi manufacture.
@Galu, although the auto industry only consumes about 10% of the total semi output, the economic impact of shutting a car plant down is huge. When we ran into allocation, all non-auto businesses had to step aside. These people are well connected into government etc. Anyone who's worked in auto will know that 'belt-stop' is another word for 'panic' or 'oh ****'. I'm afraid JIT is here to stay and that approach won't change anytime soon - the last thing any business wants is cash tied up in the supply chain.
@Galu, although the auto industry only consumes about 10% of the total semi output, the economic impact of shutting a car plant down is huge. When we ran into allocation, all non-auto businesses had to step aside. These people are well connected into government etc. Anyone who's worked in auto will know that 'belt-stop' is another word for 'panic' or 'oh ****'. I'm afraid JIT is here to stay and that approach won't change anytime soon - the last thing any business wants is cash tied up in the supply chain.
Last edited:
You do know that Apple ditched JIT a while back. now they buy the entire factory output. I was told that at least one TSMC fab is dedicated to fruity chips,which is a few billion in eggs in one basket.
Memory shortage, in general. It was a shortage in the plastic material used to encapsulate the chips. At the time, an 1Mbit SIMM (8 chips) reached $400.
All the Fruity Company have done it shift the burden of carrying inventory and managing the upstream supply chain onto the subcon(s). Semi suppliers have been doing that to distributors for at least 15 yrs. The disti's get low single digit margins and act as a buffer. Talk about screwing your partners.
One of two world wide supiers of the plastic used for encapsulation burned, leading to the memory shortage.
There was a MLCC shortage before the pandemic hit. It has gotten worse.
The company I used to work for has been told by several semi suppliers that they need to submit their requirements for the next year. No cancallations, no order changes for allocation.
There was a MLCC shortage before the pandemic hit. It has gotten worse.
The company I used to work for has been told by several semi suppliers that they need to submit their requirements for the next year. No cancallations, no order changes for allocation.
Nice and tight. Perfect time to raise prices 😀
After the party, the over-inventory headaches begin and customers screw the semi suppliers and everyone screws the disti's.
After the party, the over-inventory headaches begin and customers screw the semi suppliers and everyone screws the disti's.
" Perfect time to raise prices"
Already happened. Have you ordered from Mouser lately?
Look at what they have in stock. Prices have almost doubled in a year.
https://www.mouser.com/Semiconducto...ps/_/N-4h00g?P=1z0z63x&Keyword=5532ap&FS=True
Already happened. Have you ordered from Mouser lately?
Look at what they have in stock. Prices have almost doubled in a year.
https://www.mouser.com/Semiconducto...ps/_/N-4h00g?P=1z0z63x&Keyword=5532ap&FS=True
You just keep raising it every quarter until some of the order book goes away. Perversely, when you raise prices, often the order book will grow because customers sense a supply shortage. The market is completely irrational in these situations.
They scream and threaten to move their business elsewhere, but never do. After allocation is over, they know the boot will be on the other foot. Orders will be cancelled (the story about ‘non cancellable’ orders is nonsense for the most part) and suppliers will sit on piles of inventory and WIP.
Hmmm... check the attached. It doesn't look like a single digit margin, more like 100%. Maybe for 1M orders it would go to single digits, but for 1000s certainly not today.
