Title: What's causing the chip shortage affecting PS5, cars and more?
Headings: Why there’s a chip shortage that’s hurting everything from the PlayStation 5 to the Chevy Malibu
Why there’s a chip shortage that’s hurting everything from the PlayStation 5 to the Chevy Malibu
Key Points
A huge boom in electronics sales
Business shift to outsourcing slams factories
Trump’s trade war

Content: Narumon Bowonkitwanchai | Moment | Getty Images
A chip shortage that started as consumers stocked up on personal computers and other electronics during the Covid-19 pandemic now threatens to snarl car production around the world. On Tuesday, GM said that it would extend production cuts in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico until the middle of March. They join a long list of major automakers, including Ford, Honda and Fiat Chrysler, which have warned investors or slowed vehicle production because of the chip shortage. But it’s not just the automotive industry that’s struggling to get enough semiconductors to build their products. AMD and Qualcomm, which sell chips to most of the top electronics firms, have noted the shortage in recent weeks. Sony blamed the chip shortage for why it’s so hard to get a PlayStation 5 game console. VIDEO
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How the automotive chip shortage affects the supply chain
The Exchange
Chips are likely to remain in short supply in coming months as demand remains higher than ever. The Semiconductor Industry Association said in December that global chip sales would grow 8.4% in 2021 from 2020′s total of $433 billion. That’s up from 5.1% growth between 2019 and 2020 -- a notable jump, given how large the absolute numbers are. Semiconductors are in short supply because of strong demand for electronics, shifting business models in the semiconductor world that created a bottleneck among outsourced chip factories, and effects from the U.S. trade war with China that started under former President Trump.