Light at the end of the tunnel?
It seems more and more that the auto industry is past the darkest days of the chip shortage. Car sales are picking up and chip manufacturers are even reducing their production somewhat.
Positive feedback about the security of supply of chips, which has left its mark on the car industry, among others, in recent years. Chip manufacturer TSMC and Samsung also announced earlier this month that they would be producing fewer chips. The shortage is therefore being made up and production can now be geared more closely to current demand.
Opposite NU.nl market analysts say that the peak of the deficit is behind us and that related problems are less than last year. Chip stocks would even have been built up by companies and that may also play a role in the falling demand for chips, because companies first work from stock. Finally, inflation, among other things, is causing less demand for electronics, where there was an explosion of demand during corona, which is partly why the chip shortage arose.
All in all, it is good news for the car industry, which was hit hard by the chip shortage. Recently, a tour of AutoWeek although the delivery times for new cars at various brands are getting shorter again. De Bovag still sees a lot of backorders, but thinks the signs are favourable: “The increase in March was mainly due to cars that had already been ordered. So they were backorders. We can only conclude that this has to do with a decrease in the chip shortage,” a spokesman explains NU.nl.
Do not cheer to early
Consulting firm Bain & Company warns that chip delivery times are not yet at pre-corona levels. There is also a chance that some scarcity will arise again. The car industry also plays a role in this, because more and more chips are needed for cars due to more extensive driver assistance systems, but also because of electric powertrains. The energy transition also plays a role; many chips are needed to generate solar and wind energy.
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– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl