The global chip famine has not been solved! Survey: U.S. companies' inventory of key chips fell to less than five days

Citing the results of a new investigation on Tuesday, the Commerce Department said U.S. manufacturers and other companies using semiconductors had reduced their inventories of key chips to less than five days.

According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, companies typically maintain critical chip inventory for 40 days in 2019. The latest report says the company now has less than five days in stock for the same chip, defined as the 160 products the company deems most challenging.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said the findings suggest congress urgently need to approve the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act, including $52 billion to boost domestic chip production.

"We're not out of the woods yet because it's related to the supply of semiconductors," Raymondo said, "And the semiconductor supply chain is very fragile, and it will remain that way until we can increase chip production." ”

Since September, the Commerce Department has been seeking detailed industry data from major companies in the semiconductor supply chain.

The survey found that the current demand for chips is 20% higher than in 2019, and the company expects orders to exceed supply in the next 6 months.

The median chip inventory has slipped sharply from 40 days in 2019 to less than 5 days in 2021, and the Commerce Department warned that "if the novel coronavirus pandemic, natural disasters or political instability hit foreign semiconductor facilities, even for a few weeks, U.S. manufacturing factories could be shut down." ”

In addition, the survey found that the global semiconductor shortage is borne by the automotive and medical device industries. Used car prices soared last year due to a shortage of chips that disrupted auto production, pushing overall U.S. consumer prices up 7 percent in 2021.

(Proofreading/Holly)