Joe Biden’s team says global chip shortage to stretch through 2022
- A ‘fragile’ semiconductor supply chain means long-term strain for a range of US businesses unable to cope with rising demand
- A US Commerce Department report all but concedes that the government is powerless to resolve the bottlenecks
The Biden administration has concluded that a global semiconductor shortage will persist until at least the second half of this year, promising long-term strain on a range of US businesses including car makers and the consumer electronics industry.
US officials plan to investigate claims of possible price gouging for chips used by vehicle and medical device makers, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said on Tuesday.
“We aren’t even close to being out of the woods as it relates to the supply problems with semiconductors,” Raimondo said in a briefing with reporters discussing the findings of an industry report her agency conducted that was released on Tuesday.
The report, based on information from more than 150 companies in the chip supply chain, shows “there is a significant, persistent mismatch in supply and demand for chips”. The companies “did not see the problem going away in the next six months”, according to the report.
“The semiconductor supply chain remains fragile,” the report said, despite months of work by the Biden administration to try to relieve shortages. “Demand continues to far outstrip supply.”
