Title: There's a global shortage of computer chips – what's causing it? | New Scientist
Headings: There's a global shortage of computer chips – what's causing it?
There's a global shortage of computer chips – what's causing it?
What is causing the shortages?
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Was there any backup stock of computer chips?
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Why can’t chip manufacturers just increase output to meet demand?
How will this affect me?
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Which manufacturers are affected?
How long will it last?
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Which manufacturers are affected? Car-makers like Ford, Toyota and Volkswagen have all partially mothballed factories over recent months because they can’t source the chips needed to produce their cars. Sony hasn’t been able to put together as many PS5 games consoles as it hoped, and Microsoft is cutting back production of its Xbox Series X and Samsung is considering delaying its Galaxy Note phone. How long will it last? Some analysts believe it will take up to a year for manufacturing to get back on track, and then a further six months for stock levels at various companies to reach normal levels. US chip-maker Broadcom says 90 per cent of its 2021 output is already spoken for. Other data shows that the chip industry has been edging closer to its full manufacturing capacity for some years now, so in a way this could have been expected and there wasn’t enough of a buffer in place to handle fluctuations in demand. “ Chip famines” have happened several times before, often due to disasters, but also sometimes when new technology requires updated factories. In any case, factories are ramping up capacity now but this will take time to have much of an effect. It can take 26 weeks to create a chip and there are more than 1000 steps in making some products.