It's Not Just PS5s, Ryzen CPUs, and Graphics Cards that are in short supply...

[Jawzx2]

Semiconductor shortages have caught up to vehicle manufacturers. Ford is the first to idle a US assembly plant, but others have already and plan to do so in other locations.

https://www.theverge.com/platform/amp/2021/1/10/22222166/semiconductor-shortage-ford-idle-kentucky-toyota-nissan-volkswagen

I guess the Xbox Series machines are hard to come by too..

[facw]

@jawzx2 Interesting. The shortage of high-end chips shouldn't be hitting vehicle chips, which generally will be built on older processes (only the newest models would possibly use new chips, and then only for the infotainment system). Guessing we probably just have broader supply chain issues due to covid and the like causing shortages.

[Jawzx2]

@facw there's an industry-wide shortage of silicon wafers, and the Fabs are understaffed to boot. The whole semiconductor industry is struggling right now. Decisions are being made about what's the most profitable thing to be making with the reduced resources available.

[gmporschenut also a fan of hondas]

@jawzx2 wonder if the bitcoin mills are back at the hoarding

[MidEngine]

The shortages effect everything, stable lead times of 8 weeks are now at 52 weeks and counting. Nobody was ready for the bullwhip effect coming out of Q2 2020, as such we're in for a year of misery. The fabs are auditing the books of the semiconductor companies to make sure the demand from the end customers is legit, double and triple booking is once again a thing. The shortages have nothing to do with process node as EVERYTHING is sold out, every application (including cars) rely on a mix of bleeding edge and established chips. TSMC, Samsung, Global Foundries, all of em are maxed out and it takes billions of dollars and several years to expand production. Just in time for demand to soften.. so they're raising prices instead.

The last thing you'd want to do for a living right now is be on the front lines getting the shit kicked out of you for being unable to deliver. God help me, I work in semiconductor sales (30 years in this industry, I've seen this movie before).

And, all of this could have been avoided for the most part, I've been warning customers for well over six months now to make sure they have accurate order coverage, as usual they ignored me. So here we are.

[winterlegacy]

@midengine said in It's Not Just PS5s, Ryzen CPUs, and Graphics Cards that are in short supply...:

And, all of this could have been avoided for the most part, I've been warning customers for well over six months now to make sure they have accurate order coverage, as usual they ignored me. So here we are.

It's because most upper-level company elements (finances, HR, etc) look at the short-term. It is very consistent.

They then wonder why their business is hemorrhaging money.

[MidEngine]

@winterlegacy Yup, and their lack of commitment means the supplier is the bad guy, it's self-inflicted and completely avoidable. The just-in-time processes and outsourcing to Asia are all based on ideal conditions, and that's unrealistic. Ultimately, it's going to make products more expensive and supply will remain constrained for the foreseeable future. And I get to expedite for a living, getting nowhere but forced to sit on calls with Asia @ 11pm every fucking night. Tech sure is glamorous..

[MidEngine]

Update! 7:30am and a request came from Asia for 20k pieces of a device, absolutely must have by the end of January. Lead times normally are 8-10 weeks, this particular device is at 44 weeks currently. I was informed that our inability to deliver within two weeks is my fault, and as such I'm "incompetent, unprofessional, uncaring, and unable to handle the simplest of tasks". They have requested an audience with my VP who apparently (according to the customer) will fix this and also reprimand me, in fact, I should be terminated immediately. All this before breakfast, should be an interesting day.

[HoustonRunner]

@midengine Dang, I'd say you have a case of the Monday's....

Seriously though, I have a tiny bit of experience in this area (interned in fabs for Texas Instruments before they sold the business to Raytheon, my wife worked in the AMD Austin fab for 5 years, I had an offer coming out of college for the new Round Rock Samsung fab, but they scared me off with "all new engineers work shifts").

Anyway, it isn't that much different than oil at a certain point (my industry). Yes, there is always more coming out of the ground and products being produced at refineries, but if you don't have deals in place to buy / sell, then you are going to be stuck with the current market conditions. Good thing about oil is there is usually some excess capacity somewhere at a price.