Microchip wait times hit record high

September 23, 2021 - Semiconductor-starved companies are being forced to wait for a record 21 weeks, putting a brake on post-pandemic recovery particularly in the
automotive industry which is expected to lose around $110bn in sales.

Related Graphics

View More

iPhone sales slump despite booming smartphone market

Oil could reach $100 a barrel for first time in years

Titanic “door” prop sells for $718,750

Baltimore port closure will hit supply chains hard

India’s wealth gap widens

British luxury cars are still being imported by Russia

Apple forced to reduce app commission under EU law

United States to target TikTok with new legislation

Bitcoin hits record high of more than $69,000

The most popular box office draws over the years

Huawei outsells the iPhone in China

Movie memorabilia auction to sell second C-3PO head

AI boom quadruples Nvidia value in just one year

WTO reforms plagued by obstacles

China’s homegrown passenger jet

Xbox to test four exclusive games on rival consoles

Bitcoin bounces back after scandals and crash

China’s Belt and Road loans

Netflix posts best subscriber growth since pandemic

China’s population decline accelerates

Apple is now the world’s biggest phone manufacturer

Increase in extreme wealth

Netflix cuts production in quality not quantity drive

Blue economy under threat

Mutual fund cuts X/Twitter value by 72%

India-Russia oil imports at lowest level for a year

How large would a “Warner-Paramount” merger be?

SpaceX leads the field in commercial space flight

China’s deepening housing crisis hits middle class

Developing world drowning in $3.5 trillion of debt

Chip shortages that have hampered growth in the electronics industry, and by extension many other industries, are getting worse. Lead times for semi-conductors reached 21 weeks in August, the worst ever recorded, which has been particularly damaging for the automotive industry. Carmakers have been revealed as especially vulnerable to supply issues, and their expected recovery after the Covid-19 pandemic looks set to fall short by around 3.9 million vehicles in production, worth an estimated $110 billion in lost sales.