• scraeming [he/him]
    ·
    3 years ago

    Unfortunately when it comes to these kinds of semiconductor chips, the lead time is just catastrophic when a spike in demand or squeeze in supply happens. It takes months to get a production line up and running, and in excess of a year to build a new factory. Tech companies bet on demand for consumer electronics dropping with a downturn in general economy, and unfortunately that ended up being one of the few sectors that exploded during lockdowns, so they cut orders for chips only a couple months before they'd need more than they ever have, and we're still trying to play catch-up to months of elevated demand. It's going to take a long time for things to equalize again.