If you would like to build a computer, grab the latest car model, or your microwave oven has ‘transmitted its latest vortex’ and you are desperately searching for a replacement, you have probably noticed a huge shortage of electrical products. Throughout the Covid-19 epidemic, demand has become almost stagnant rather than computer chips surpassing the declining supply of silicon.
It first started to affect computer components – trying to buy the latest graphics card or CPU compared to last year was like a losing battle for most customers as they tried and desperately tried to buy another one for a small supply drop. Soon, though, the chip shortage began to hit the market on a daily basis. In April 2021, Samsung announced that reduced supplies would begin to affect everything from TVs to kitchen appliances.
Car production has suffered a significant blow, with accountant KPMG predicting that carmakers alone will lose $100 billion in 2021 because the semiconductors needed to build sophisticated cars are unusable. However, why is the situation so dire with semiconductor manufacturers making more money than ever before? First, let us cover the cover. The coronavirus epidemic affected every business in one way or another, and production suffered significant losses. Logistics, warehousing and factory management, and international supply of raw materials all make semiconductor fabrication a difficult task, and depending on the country, lockdowns played their part.
It will not sum up and navigating it was probably a difficult situation for companies – however, they claim it is not to blame. In fact, Nvidia (a large graphics card maker and semiconductor gabber) claimed that there was no supply problem here; instead, there is a serious claims problem. As lockdowns force people to confine themselves to the boundaries of their homes, employees have started working long distances at a much higher rate. According to the Office of National Statistics (ONS), working from home in the UK has more than doubled since 2019, as companies (especially technology) forced to move out of the office and work remotely.
However, not everyone had the computer to handle even office-related tasks and so needed a shiny new desktop, when they already saw it as a bright fair to improve their camouflage. The market for computer components has boomed, forcing manufacturers to go insane for counterfeit space to get semiconductors. Soon, the Scholars took over the market, supplies became non-existent, and everyone from home PC builders to large corporations became frustrated.
