Why Is There a Shortage of Electronic Components, and Who Is It Affecting?

Throughout the past couple of years, the electronic industry has seen some of the biggest highs and lowest lows in both recovery and downturn. The shortage of electronic components is starting to affect multiple industries, and it has been particularly hard to recover from as the entire global supply chain is constantly thrown into varying levels of disruption and chaos. This article is going to talk more about why there is a shortage and who it is that is likely to be most affected by it.

Where Is The Industry Now?

Throughout the past couple of years, the accessibility to different components and the respective shortage has varied depending on what month it is. For instance, in late 2021 and early 2022, some experts saw the entire demand-supply chain beginning to stabilize. This has happened as well towards the end of 2022 and the beginning of 2023. That being said, this is thrown into chaos with the actions of countries all around the world. For instance, when China experienced a wave of Covid-19 lockdowns, it meant that a lot of chipmaking facilities in Shanghai and Xi’an could not operate, and this added to the shortage.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine is also a factor. This has led to humanitarian loss and also weeks of chip recovery. An energy crisis arose in Europe, which meant that energy and fuel prices reached all-time highs, meaning shipping cost more and fewer parts were being delivered. Different chipmakers are reacting differently to some of the problems that have risen in 2021, 2022, and 2023, which means that the consistency of supply is varying massively too.

How to Keep On Top Of Components

If you want to keep up to date on the accessibility of electrical components that have been in short supply recently, like one of the most popular components, the MLCC semiconductor, you are able to do so by using helpful services such as Octopart. Octopart is able to provide plenty of up-to-date information on the different electrical components which are used across the world.

Who Is Affected by the Shortage?

Many industries have been affected by the shortage of different electrical components. Some of the most prominent products impacted include the likes of:

• Lower-power radars, radios, and also wireless networking products
• Equipment that is capable of using 5G, like different handsets, base station equipment, and IoT products
• Consumer electronics (for instance, the likes of laptops and smartphones)

These are just a few examples, and if the shortage continues, the list could grow.

Conclusions

There are several reasons why there has been a shortage of different electrical components, such as semiconductors, in the past couple of years. They include the likes of the energy crisis and lockdowns across the world. This is affecting industries everywhere and there doesn’t seem to be any indication it will level out. It’s essential to keep up to date using different resources that will be able to keep you updated on the parts you need.