London: The shortage of microchips has become a global crisis, especially in the auto sector. It also includes the epidemic, global trade tensions and changing countries' priorities.
It seems that several factors at once have given rise to the microchip crisis. Due to the first code, people were confined to their homes and global car sales fell sharply, with large companies halving production. In this regard, the relevant chip makers reduced their production, but in many countries, as conditions improved and car sales increased, the shortage of chips is now being felt acutely.
It should be noted that electric chips are used for electrical systems, sensors and other important matters of cars, buses and other vehicles. Thanks to the microchip, the brakes of modern cars work and the steering wheel rotates. That is why there is a severe shortage of microchips in many car companies, including Aub Audi and BMW.
Another reason for the crisis is the preferential purchase of goods, ie sales of laptops, cameras and tablets multiplied in the code lockdown. Parents needed laptops for their children's online classes, while families had to buy tablets to talk to distant loved ones. Thus, chip makers shifted their focus from the auto industry to domestic products. Even in Pakistan, there was a significant increase in the prices of laptops and tablets. According to the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), the microchip industry has reached 40 billion by January 2021 as these chips are being used in small devices.
Now, a major carmaker has asked a Taiwanese chip maker to increase its production immediately or its company will die. It should be noted that 80% of the world's microchips are manufactured by Taiwanese companies and require a large amount of water. According to the Association of Taiwanese Chipmakers (TSMC), dozens of chip makers in the country use 1.5 million tons of water a day. But there was a period of drought in Taiwan, which also affected chip-making.
However, apart from business, the microchip crisis is growing all the time. The first news in this regard is that the price of the iPhone 13, which will be released tomorrow, may be a bit higher and Apple has also blamed the chip crisis for this. That is why experts are calling this period the 'global microchip famine' which will intensify next year and will be resolved by the end of 2023.
