The latest report shows that the shortage of chips affects not only the production of end products such as automobiles and electronic products, but also the production of automation equipment in chip and other industries.

    Information in the field of semiconductor equipment shows that the shortage of industrial control integrated circuits has become a bottleneck in the production of automation equipment used in chip manufacturing and printed circuit board industry.

    In the context of global chip shortage in many fields, if the production of chips and printed circuit board manufacturing equipment is also affected by chip shortage, it is bound to affect the delivery of relevant equipment, thus affecting the production of chips, inhibiting
the expansion of chip manufacturers‘ production capacity, and ultimately affecting the chip supply, leading to a further extension of the time of chip shortage.

    Industry insiders generally believe that the global chip shortage that began in the automotive sector at the beginning of last year will take some time to be completely solved. Intel CEO pat Gelsinger has repeatedly said that it will continue for some time. Last week, he said that the chip shortage challenge will continue until at least 2024.

    Sources pointed out that the longer delivery time of equipment is slowing down the pace of capacity expansion of the OEM. PCB manufacturers also face the same problem. At present, PCB manufacturers see the increase of long-term contracts, which encourages them to upgrade their manufacturing capacity and build new factories. However, the extended delivery time of key automation equipment also poses a challenge to their ability to expand production capacity on time.

    In addition, sources said that the shortage of industrial control chips may continue until the end of 2023.