In the current year, the global shortage of semiconductors will cost the auto industry $ 210 billion in revenues, according to the latest estimates from consulting firm AlixPartners. In May, estimates were for a drop of $ 110 billion. New closures in Malaysia for Covid-19 and other problems elsewhere “have exacerbated things,” said Mark Wakefield of AlixPartners, in a statement. AlixPartners now expects 7.7 million production units to be lost in 2021, up from the 3.9 million forecast in May.
Carmakers around the world have warned that there will be a sharp decline in revenues this year due to a lack of chips, although margins could be saved by rising prices. But with the decline in stocks, 2022 could make reality harder: increases in raw materials, which today are downloaded to suppliers, and the chip crisis, which will go on at least until the second half of the year, as the head of Volkswagen said. America (the CEO of Intel sees even more black, with problems until 2023), will make the air financially less breathable for manufacturers.
Loading…
And according to AutoForecast Solutions, the impact of the chip shortage could even exceed 10 million fewer vehicles produced, with the record in the States (over 3 million, only 250 thousand recoverable), followed by Europe (2.7 million) and China (2 million, just under 4 including the whole Asian area).
Today, the White House hosts a meeting with semiconductor manufacturers and companies affected by their lack, to ask for information and identify ways to help solve the problem. Companies expected at the meeting include Apple, Ford Motor, General Motors, Intel, Medtronic, Samsung, Stellantis and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The White House is lobbying Congress to secure funding for the Chips for America Act, a bipartisan law that encourages investment in the semiconductor industry. The Senate approved $ 52 billion in June, but the House has not yet taken over the measure.
The United States lost ground on semiconductors to Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and China: the Semiconductor Industry Association said the share of the market held by the United States plummeted from 37% in 1990 to 12% in 2020. China and other countries, CNBC argues, provide subsidies to major producers, making it difficult to attract them to the United States.