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: 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. However, the pandemic temporarily disrupted semiconductor shipments as global demand for new mobile devices, PCs, and data center upgrades surged in response to remote work, online learning, and other stay-at-home trends. Most chipmakers recovered from their initial disruptions, and TSMC stayed online because its most advanced plants in Taiwan weren't affected. Memory chipmakers also quickly ramped up their production again in response to that rising demand. But the chip sector still couldn't satisfy the market's appetite for new chips. TSMC's fabs have already been running at over-100% utilization over the past 12 months, and it recently announced it would spend $100 billion over the next three years to expand its operations.