The short supply of Semiconductor chips, is not only causing shortages of every-day items, but it causing their prices to rise. The short supply of semi-conductor chips is causing havoc in hundreds of American industries. The shortage has caused consumer goods like printers, laptops, & cars to become more expensive and sadly caused the shutdown of lots of auto manufacturing plants, because they are awaiting delivery of more chips. Dr. Gordon Smith of the U of H's Bauer School of Business says it all began with the Covid lockdown closing down chip manufacturers which, in turn, affects most of your daily life. "Everything these days - in hour home, your automobile, your office, on the cell phone you're holding onto, has chips. Those chips tend to, over time, become more and more complex."
Global Chip Shortage Impacts General Motors
Dr. Smith says things could be improving. "Chip manufacturing now is a pretty time consuming process. Lots of steps involved. The research that will be going on will be looking at 'How we do things more efficiently than we do them right now.' " He says a Senate Innovation & Competition bill is authorizing $110 billion to fund research in semiconductors, partially focusing on manufacturing for semiconductors in the US.
But don't expect miracles. Says Smith, "That's going to be in 2022. Probably in the time frame of 1st or 2nd quarter when we will see some sort of level of stability."
Photo:GettyImages
shortage of chips causes havocPhoto: Getty Images