We rarely thought much about the roles semiconductors play in our lives until the chip shortage made us realize just how much we rely on them every day.
From our laptops and video game consoles to medical devices and even our cars, chips power much of what we use regularly, from the ways we work and travel to the ways we enjoy leisure time.
Also, more smart devices on the market mean more chips are needed to power them, and as we grow accustomed to that in our tech, the demand for them is growing at an exponential pace.
The global chip shortage picked up steam in the first year of the pandemic and snowballed when China's Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) was hit with restrictions from the U.S. Department of Commerce during conflict between China and the U.S.
Since then, people have either joined long waiting lists in hopes of eventually buying the items they want, or turned to the secondhand market to buy new cars and electronics, many of them marked up far above their market value.
Chip makers have also taken a brutal beating on the stock market as a result of the shortage, with AMD (AMD) taking the biggest plunge via a 41% loss in valuation.
Now one of the biggest names in the business has spoken about when we can expect to see a plentiful supply of chips again, and unfortunately, the news is not what we might have hoped to hear.
Shutterstock
When Will the Chip Shortage End?
Pat Gelsinger, the chief executive of Intel, said in an interview with CNBC that he's updating his original forecast for how long the chip shortage could last.
Originally, he predicted that it would last through 2023. However, in his latest remarks he said that date has now "drifted" into 2024.
Gelsinger said shortages have now hit equipment and "some of those factory ramps will be more challenged."
Intel has been pouring money into chip-making plants to try to offset the shortage, such as the $20 billion its committed to spending on construction of new facilities in Ohio.
Gelsinger has said this is part of a strategy to help lessen the U.S. reliance on Asian-based chip manufactures.
Intel will also spend $36 billion to do the same in Europe.
This unfortunate news arrives just as flickers of hope had begun that the end of the shortage could be on the horizon.
Analysts from Counterpoint Research recently said global chip shortages would ease in the second half of 2022 as demand supply gaps decrease.
Also, notoriously hard to get video game consoles that have been out of stock since 2021 have started to reappear on retail store shelves, giving people hope that the chip issue is lessening.
But now that it looks as if we are in for the long haul, take good care of your laptop and your car, because getting a new one may not be as easy as it used to be.
