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Car production has stalled. Shipments of dishwashers, refrigerators and video game consoles are facing delays.
Customers and businesses are suffering the consequences of the semiconductor supply shortage. The war in Ukraine may further worsen the existing situation.
These are GPS tracking devices. They travel the adjacent world with boxes of medicine, food and electronics, sending information about the temperature of the shipments, their location and whether they have suffered any damage.
Their operation depends on semiconductors, which today are retail.
“We don’t have enough. The demand is very high”, says Sanjay Sharma, founder of the company “Roambee”.
For over a year, manufacturers have been facing a shortage of microprocessors, which are the brains of every computer device, as the world emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic.
This has hit manufacturers of cars, electronics, video game equipment and other sectors.
Some are delaying production. Others are varying the makes and type of microprocessors used.
“Almost everything you buy has a semiconductor in it. My washing machine tells me when the laundry is ready. The dryer as well. The oven and everything we buy uses sensors, devices connected to the Internet. So it will affect customers,” says Dawn Tiura, founder of the Industrial Supplies Group.
The Russian attack on Ukraine could worsen the global microprocessor supply problem, experts say. Both Ukraine and Russia are sources of vital materials for the creation of semiconductors.
“Some companies will be less affected, depending on the inventory they have, their supply chain and how they manage it. Some companies will be more affected. As the war continues, the situation will become more and more difficult”, says Lita Shon-Roy from the firm “Techcet”.
“Roambee”, like other companies, is looking worldwide for the provision of microprocessors. By doing so, it undermines the common practice of buying them just before the end of the product, which has a lower cost.
“You have two choices, sit back and do nothing and hope that things will get better, or bravely face the difficulties and wonder what you can do,” says Sanjay Sharma of Roambee.
But buying microprocessors could prolong the crisis.
“This will continue for the next 12 or 18 months because companies like us will create more reserves than they need,” says Ms. Sahrma.
Consumers suffer increased costs, partly due to the lack of equipment necessary for production.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if the same electronic device becomes 10 percent more expensive compared to two years ago,” says Misha Govshteyn from the “MacroFab” firm.
Shortages of supplies have led the American and European governments to consider the return of the production of microprocessors within the country, but the realization of this takes time./VOA
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