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[BlackM1st]

Silicon Wafer Supplier Says Its 300mm Capacity is Sold Out Through 2026 - ExtremeTech

There's a significant silicon wafer supply shortage clogging up supply lines right now and adding to the chip industry's woes.

www.extremetech.com

Over the past year there’s been a lot of digital ink spilled about pandemic-related supply chain problems, and the associated chip shortage. Industry opinions on when the shortage might ease have varied considerably. For example, Intel’s CEO has said he thinks the shortage will last through 2023, with AMD’s CEO saying things will start to improve in late 2022. However, according to one silicon wafer supplier named Sumco, the shortage will likely last a bit longer than even the most dire predictions. The company claims its 300mm wafer capacity is already booked all the way through 2026.

Even more troubling is Sumco said in its earnings call that it has no way to increase production, despite there being ample demand for it with customers clamoring for more wafer capacity and long-term contracts. It says it is experiencing a supply-demand imbalance across its entire product line. The lack of any viable way to increase production was the number one issue highlighted recently by the US Department of Commerce in a report on the semiconductor shortage. In the report the agency asked silicon fabs about their current production capacity, which was reported to be above 90 percent. This highlights the same issue Sumco is describing. With no way to increase production at this time, the shortages will continue far into the future.

Buckle up bitches... We are in for a long ride haha hah ha...

 

[jhjfss]

 

[TheDreadLord]

The truth is, until all the new factories are up and running we will be through this shortage. My hope is that eventually offer will catch up with demand + some spare capacity to lower prices all around but I guess that there is a chance that this situation will never resolve.

 

[BlackM1st]

but I guess that there is a chance that this situation will never resolve.

I mean they reported the record earnings... So maybe they're really not in a rush.

 

[TheDreadLord]

I mean they reported the record earnings... So maybe they're really not in a rush.

Yeah, but at this point they are probably receiving governmental funding so it doesn’t matter for them as they will just pick the money and build more capacity. Still, it takes a lot of time for these advanced factories to be ready and producing at full speed. In addition, demand is sharply increasing with all this nonsense of carbon neutrality by year x forcing an artificial electrification of everything which in turn lead manufactures to attach useless screens/chips everywhere in their products to stand out the crowd.

 

[Guilhermegrg]

Ah crap...This is gonna suck.