Title: 6 Causes of the Global Semiconductor Shortage | The Motley Fool
Headings: 6 Causes of the Global Semiconductor Shortage
6 Causes of the Global Semiconductor Shortage
The world's top chipmakers still can't manufacture chips fast enough to satisfy the market's insatiable appetite.
1. Intel's big mistakes
2. Declining memory chip prices
3. The COVID-19 crisis
4. Secular tailwinds
5. The ongoing tech war
6. More challenges ahead
What does this shortage mean for investors?

Content: Getty Images. Unlike Intel, which manufactures its own chips with its internal foundry, AMD outsources the production of most of its chips to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing ( NYSE: TSM), the world's most advanced chip foundry. As a result, AMD's growth and market share gains applied more pressure to TSMC's plants prior to the pandemic. 2. Declining memory chip prices
Meanwhile, memory chip prices soared in 2017 and 2018, but declined in 2019 and 2020 amid sluggish demand from the PC and smartphone markets. In response, top DRAM and NAND chipmakers -- including Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron Technology ( NASDAQ: MU) -- curbed their output before the pandemic. 3. The COVID-19 crisis
In short, the market was already wobbly when the pandemic started last year.