The global chip shortage started last year and has impacted many industries. Some industries you would expect but there are others that you wouldn’t suspect. Around 169 industries have faced the supply and demand issues brought on by the global chip shortage, including – but not limited to – computers, medical equipment, cars, networking, telecommunications, ready-mix concrete manufacturing, air-conditioning systems, and gaming consoles.
Goldman Sachs, an investment banking company in the U.S, has provided an analysis of how and why these industries will be impacted. Goldman Sachs has observed each industry’s need for microchips and their related components as a share of their GDP. Any industry that spends more than 1% of its GDP on microchips or related components will be impacted by the shortage of semi-conductors.
One example would be the automotive industry. Within this trade, 4.7% of GDP is spent on microchips as well as its related semiconductors; with computer chips being used in almost everything within a car – from infotainment systems to drive-assistance technologies.
The automotive industry is unique in how its supply chain operates. Car manufacturers typically will run bare on supplies for vehicles to keep costs to a minimum. Once the pandemic began last year, car manufacturers expected the purchasing of vehicles to decrease and because of this cut down their supplies of microchips and semiconductors. They were right – demand dropped to an all-time low. However, consumer interest in cars surged in the last quarter of 2020, outpacing the final quarter of 2019 sales numbers.
Once car manufacturers realised they needed more chips to meet demand, chipmakers were already dedicating time to make chips for consumer tech companies. Now, both industries are struggling for supply and support from the extremely limited number of global semiconductor manufacturers that can meet their needs.
The impact on the car industry can quite visibly be seen. With new cars in short supply, consumers have turned their heads to second-hand cars. Second-hand car prices have surged to the highest they have been. Research by the UK motoring group has put forward that the price of the UK’s most popular cars increased by up to 57% since 2019. Three- to five-year-old Ford Fiestas are now valued at £9,770 in comparison to £7,448.
Within both the IT and Telecommunications industry, where Spire specialises, we are seeing shortages of wireless access points, VoIP phones, laptops, computers, monitors and more. Stock is hard to get hold of currently, and experts believe that this will only become more problematic before it gets better; with Intel Corp CEO Pat Gelsinger predicting it to continue into 2023.
With the above in mind, ordering your stock for technical items with time in advance is becoming increasingly more important. Here at Spire, we believe that providing the best customer service along with the highest standards of work is why we are the leading Worcestershire technology specialist with decades of experience. We want to keep our customers happy with the service we provide.
However, to keep our customers happy we’re asking for a little bit of help from you (our customers). If you’re planning on ordering from us, please continue to do so! But please bear in mind that due to this global chip shortage, lead times may be increased slightly. We are doing the best we can in the background to make sure that your purchase, project, network upgrade – whatever you have planned with us – goes as smooth as possible. If you place your order earlier with us, it gives us more time in preparation to make sure that we can provide you with the best service possible and it also helps our techies not to go grey earlier with the stress!
If you’re interested in joining our many happy customers, please get in touch with us! We are reachable via the webchat in the bottom right-hand corner of your screen, through email at info@spiretechgroup.com or through the telephone on 0330 205 0250.
