A global shortage of one crucial piece of technology is causing delays in everything from cars and televisions to video game consoles and Australia’s National Broadband Network rollout.
A temporary shutdown in the production of silicon computer chips at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, as well as severe storms in Texas causing more recent delays, has caused worldwide chip shortages, with a knock-on effect for the production of phones, laptops and even automobiles.
Samsung, which is the largest manufacturer of computer chips in the world, as well as one of the biggest users, has said the chip shortage comes amid rising demand for consumer electronics during the pandemic.
“There’s a serious imbalance in supply and demand of chips in the IT sector globally,” the company’s co chief executive, Koh Dong-Jin, said.
Apple, the world’s biggest buyer of chips, was one of the worst affected companies, delaying the launch of the iPhone 12 last year as a result.
A winter storm in Texas in February forcing several chip factories to temporarily halt production amid power outages did not help with the ongoing crisis.
Manufacturers are slowly increasing capacity to meet demand but there are still growing shortages in products that need semiconductors to function, from televisions and phones to the new Xbox and PlayStation video game consoles.
Due to this shortage the PC community is the worst affected category as the cost of components are shooting up sky high and due to less availability, the components are being mined and then later sold at lofty prices.
All in all, this situation would take a while to settle down but hopefully it surely will.
By ~ ANSH BARMAN
