Among the most affected by the global semiconductor shortage crisis are manufacturers of cars and medical diagnostic equipment. The situation is that the vendors of the most popular gadgets turned out to be more protected from the “semiconductor storm” than the sectors seemingly less dependent on electronics.
Despite the fact that medical equipment uses fairly primitive chips without powerful processors, the industry felt a serious lack of them. Digitalization of medicine is a long-established trend and increase of semiconductors production is a long process, which can be achieved only by large enterprises with relevant experience (Lawrence, 2021). It is necessary to develop a large number of related industries and technologies in parallel with the launch of production.
It is necessary to unfold the construction of factories for the most innovative 3-nm chips. Such chips are required for the most advanced technologies, and the greatest shortage now is in the semiconductors of previous generations, which are used in cars. There are some short-term ways that do not require building new facilities and organizations. It is needed to make different circuit boards for different chip packages and assemble universal firmware for all types of microcontrollers.
It is a large-scale problem, in which the development of domestic production alone is not a sufficient measure. The launch of new products within the framework of one country is not likely to solve the problem of high prices. This is due to the fact that it is not so much the producers who are responsible for their growth as the intermediaries in the supply chain. Based on this data, it is possible to assume that joint efforts of developed countries will improve the situation by 2025.
Reference
Lawrence, K. (2021). “Chipageddon”: What the global chip drought means for manufacturing and supply chains. Web.