The global semiconductor shortage that has paralyzed automakers for nearly a year shows signs of worsening, as a new wave of coronavirus infections halts assembly lines in Southeast Asia.
According to MSN News, The White House on Thursday will hold its second summit in five months with semiconductor manufacturers and buyers, in part to gain more clarity on the scope of the problem, senior administration officials said Wednesday. Also known as computer chips, semiconductors are the brains behind modern electronics.
Demand for the components is soaring as more consumer goods become computerized, but supply is scarce because semiconductor factories are extremely expensive to build. Automakers, which rely on dozens of chips to build a single vehicle, have been particularly hard hit, forced to halt production lines globally as they await chip supplies.
Now coronavirus is worsening the problem, as Delta-variant infections force chip suppliers in Malaysia, Vietnam, and the Philippines to halt production, according to industry executives and administration officials. The infections are “shutting down factories and hurting the back end of the semiconductor process,”
one of the administration officials said Wednesday, speaking on the condition of anonymity to preview Thursday’s meeting. “This is having an impact all across the economy, with automobiles, yes, but even beyond that, into medical devices, networking equipment — we’re hearing regularly from companies that cannot get the supply they need,” the official said. READ MORE