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: Carmakers aren’t directly competing with high-tech companies for the same chip supply. Car chips are usually based on older chip manufacturing technologies and don’t need the bleeding edge. The Ford company logo is displayed on a sign outside of the Chicago Assembly Plant on February 03, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois. Scott Olson | Getty Images
But the shortage isn’t just in the fastest chips — it’s in everything. “The shortage in the semiconductor industry is across the board,” said incoming Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon last month. “ Not only leading nodes but legacy nodes,” referring to chip manufacturing technology. Cars now include scores of tiny chips, many of which perform functions like power management. Cars also use a lot of microcontrollers, which can control traditional automotive tasks like power steering, or are the brain at the heart of an infotainment system. Car makers also usually use “just-in-time” production, which means they avoid having extra parts in storage. “The problem is even if that 10-cent chip is missing, you can’t sell your $30,000 car,” Gaurav Gupta, semiconductor analyst at Gartner said.