Mar 30, 2021 23:00:00

What is the reason for the global shortage of semiconductors affecting the production of PlayStation 5 and automobiles?

Semiconductor supply in the first quarter of 2021

was well below demand, and on March 17, 2021, Samsung Co-CEO Ko Dong-jin said, 'There is a serious semiconductor shortage on a global scale.' doing. Bloomberg , an overseas media, explains the causes of such a global semiconductor shortage from various aspects.

Why Is There a Chip Shortage? Covid-19, Surging Demand Cause Semiconductor Shortfall
https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2021-semiconductors-chips-shortage/

The following is a graph showing the transition of the 'average time period (lead time) from ordering chips to delivery' from 2017 to 2021 reported by research firm Susquehanna International Group. Chip lead times have been gradually increasing since November 2019, but have increased sharply since the beginning of 2021 and reached an average of about 15 weeks in February 2021. 'The global semiconductor shortage may continue until the end of 2021 or 2022,' Bloomberg said.

◆ Increased demand
Bloomberg cites 'increasing demand for semiconductors' as the cause of the global semiconductor shortage. The graph below summarizes the transition of semiconductor sales from 2010 to 2020, by field, 'automobile (purple)' 'computing (yellow)' 'home appliances (turquoise)' 'industry / military / It is color-coded into 'aerospace (green)', 'wired communication (red)', and 'wireless communication (blue)'. From the graph, we can see that semiconductor sales are on the rise.

As you can see from the graph above, semiconductor sales in the automobile field are increasing. According to research firm

IHS Markit , semiconductor costs accounted for 18% of manufacturing costs for cars manufactured in 2000. Since then, the share of semiconductor costs has increased, reaching 40% in 2020. It is expected to reach 45% in 2030.

According to Bloomberg, low-priced semiconductors are used in automobiles and home appliances. However, Bloomberg points out that the expansion of low-priced semiconductor manufacturing facilities has not kept pace with the increase in demand, resulting in a shortage of semiconductor supplies.

◆ Impact of new coronavirus infection (COVID-19)
In addition to the above-mentioned increase in demand, the COVID-19 epidemic is also affecting the global semiconductor shortage. According to Bloomberg, the COVID-19 epidemic created uncertainty in the market. In addition, automakers underestimated the amount of semiconductors needed to manufacture cars, failing to secure semiconductors. As a result, the automotive industry is expected to miss $ 61 billion in sales in 2021 alone.

◆ Industry bottleneck
The figure below shows

the shares of foundries that manufacture semiconductors as 'Taiwan (purple)', 'Korea (blue)', 'America (turquoise)', 'China (green)', and 'Israel (yellow)'. It is shown in different colors. If you look at the figure, you can see that the world's largest foundry is Taiwan-based TSMC , the world's second-largest is South Korea-based Samsung , and many semiconductors are manufactured in Asia.

According to Bloomberg, products such as photolithography equipment , chemicals, and electronic design software, which are indispensable for semiconductor manufacturing, are exclusively owned by a small number of companies such as ASML , Shin-Etsu Chemical , and Cadence Design Systems, respectively. It is said that it is in.

Bloomberg points out that the current situation where a small number of regions and companies play a key role in semiconductor manufacturing can become a bottleneck in semiconductor manufacturing. Intel's foundry service expansion strategy 'IDM 2.0' announced on March 23, 2021 'may regain independence in semiconductor manufacturing in the United States,' he said.

Intel announced 'IDM 2.0' aiming to expand foundry services by investing more than 2 trillion yen, and it was pointed out that 'We are planning to manufacture Apple Silicon' --GIGAZINE