The semiconductor crisis is far from over: 2022 may be its worst year

Since the coronavirus crisis dealt a deadly blow to chip supply in 2020, the technology sector has been trailing semiconductor shortages. Despite the good forecasts, this 2022 seems to be terrible.

The supply of chips and semiconductors in the United States is about to break, or so says a new macro-study commissioned by the US Department of Commerce.

The conclusion of this research is that the decrease in inventories and the overload of factories is at historical maximums, and very far from being able to be solved during this year 2022.

And it is that the figures show the shortage of chips. In 2021, companies buying semiconductors had less than five days of inventory on hand, up from 40 days of inventory in 2019, according to a survey of more than 150 companies.

At the same time, demand increased by 17%, leading many of the companies surveyed to say that demand exceeded their internal forecasts. This means that the end of the chip shortage is not in sight. Not this year at least.

“We are not even close to getting out of trouble when it comes to semiconductor supply problemsCommerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said at a press briefing on Tuesday.

Raimondo urged Congress to pass legislation authorizing $52 billion in grants and incentives to shore up semiconductor manufacturing capacity in the United States. Let us remember that Intel is going to set up a megafactory in Ohio for 20,000 million dollars.

Fortunately, the report has some good news. For example, factories, which typically run at 80% capacity, are operating above 90% capacity.. What the extra use of these has helped to meet part of the increase in demand.

But it will not be easy to fix the rest of the deficit. Experts say the only way to really fix the chip shortage is by building more factories. But factories take years to build and get going. The new ones from Intel, for example, will not be operational until 2024.

TSMC has said it will spend $100 billion over three years to increase its capacity, while Intel is building four new factories in the United States alone, two in Arizona and two in Ohio.

Between 2021 and 2022, the entire semiconductor industry is expected to spend around $150 billion, far exceeding previous years. The world needs more factories because everyone needs chips.