Since early 2020, you may have heard whispers about the notorious “chip shortage”, and wondered how or if it’s effecting your Fraser Valley business
Whether you know much about it or not, it has been impacting local business here in the Fraser Valley, in ways that continue to evolve.
For those who aren’t technicians or haven’t Googled it yet, the “chips” in discussion are “the brains of electronic devices” and “can be found in a range of products from cars to home appliances to smartphones” (CNBC). They are small pieces of semiconductor material that contain electronic circuits, and are essential to the functioning of many of these devices, as they allow for the processing and storage of information. As you can imagine, with the never-ending rise of devices taking over our lives and homes, these are in very high demand.
The semiconductor industry, which has mostly been controlled by China, hasn’t been able to keep up with this demand. Between the War in Ukraine, rising tensions between the USA and China, and ongoing distribution complications lingering from the Coronavirus, production and distribution of these chips has been slipping and has not been able to recover. This has resulted in less product being available, as well as inflated prices. Specifically for local businesses here in the Valley, the chip shortage has affected the availability of products that are critical for our businesses to operate; You may have encountered long wait times for new PCs and Routers, phones, POS Systems, or other devices. This has made it challenging for our businesses to operate efficiently, causing us to lose customers and revenue.
The big news this season is that the chip shortage is coming near a resolution!
Experts are saying that things are looking up for chip production for all devices except automotive, which are projected to remain in a shortage for a while longer (Outlook). The USA has committed large investments to bring our main sources of chip production to the West (Forbes), so that Europe and the Americas do not have to rely on China for the production of important devices required for business, leisure, government, or military activities. We are certainly hoping that for the sake of our community, the predictions turn out to be accurate, so that all our businesses in the Fraser Valley can regain full access to the products they need, when they need them.