Chip delivery times have climbed to 20 weeks

Posted on Thursday, August 12 2021 @ 9:20 CEST by Thomas De Maesschalck
Research from Susquehanna Financial Group indicates chip delivery times are getting worse and worse. There's a big global shortage of all sorts of semiconductors, which results in insufficient supply of everything from video cards to cars. ExtremeTech writes lead times are now up to 20.2 weeks -- this means a chip ordered today won't be delivered until January 2022.

Some chip segments are hit harder than others. Microcontrollers for example suffer from lead times of 26.5 weeks. Power management chip lead times on the other hand have decreased, which is a sliver of good news.
Earlier this year, when TSMC was under heavy pressure to pivot and give more manufacturing space to automotive companies, the company warned that with its existing capacity fully utilized, it could only give more fab room to car manufacturers by shortchanging other customers. Difficulty filling orders has incentivized companies to overestimate expected sales as a means of ensuring they have enough silicon for the foreseeable future. This makes shortages worse in the short term because fab companies have a limited window into how “real” the demand for any given product is. Overbooking can also lead to a steep order decline at the end of a shortage as companies focus on selling off excess inventory and do not place as many orders.
The industry expects shortages will last into 2022 and could persist as long as late 2023 in some industries.

Chip delivery times


About the Author

Thomas De Maesschalck

Thomas has been messing with computer since early childhood and firmly believes the Internet is the best thing since sliced bread. Enjoys playing with new tech, is fascinated by science, and passionate about financial markets. When not behind a computer, he can be found with running shoes on or lifting heavy weights in the weight room.



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