President Biden signs a presidential decree to review the US semiconductor supply chain

The global shortage of semiconductors has begun to be pointed out from the beginning of the year. Initially the topic was limited to the automotive industry, but now it's affecting what's essential to our lives. We covered the causes of the shortage, including home appliances and equipment that became difficult to obtain! ⇒ [Image] Many companies in Japan are affected

Not just smartphones and cars!Waiting for 2 months for white goods to arrive

"I live in a detached house in the city and I'm forced to go to a public bath ..." lamented an office worker (49 years old) living in Tokyo. The blue sky was two weeks ago. "The water heater broke down, hot water did not come out, and the bath could not be boiled. I immediately asked the contractor to repair it, but I could not fix it until April because there is a shortage of semiconductors and parts are out of stock." On my way home, I handed over a piece of paper. A list of public baths in the neighborhood was written there. "Now, I spend 10 minutes almost every day going to a public bath with my family, but this season it's tough because it gets cold. My wife wants to wash her face at home, so I made my own copper tube wrapped around it. I desperately completed the water heater by watching YouTube. "

Background of prolonged semiconductor shortage

It has been a year since the shortage of semiconductors was pointed out. Far from being resolved, things are getting worse. According to a survey by the US Susquehanna Financial Group, the lead time (time required from ordering to delivery) of semiconductors in the world was 21.9 weeks as of October, which is a significant increase from 14.1 weeks in January. Masami Inaba, editor-in-chief of the Electronic Device Industry Newspaper, explains the background of the prolonged shortage of semiconductors. "One is that the demand for electronic devices and home appliances has increased due to changes in life such as teleworking, online learning, and nesting in Korona-ka. There is a growing movement to secure inventories. It can be said that this is mainly a synergistic effect of these two. ”Semiconductors are no longer a necessity in daily life and are affecting the supply of home appliances. I asked a salesperson at a consumer electronics retail store in Tokyo. "Televisions, washer-dryers, and refrigerators are particularly affected by the shortage of semiconductors. TVs are running out of stock mainly for low-priced models due to the year-end sales season. On the contrary, the drum-type washer-dryer and refrigerator are out of stock in the large high-priced range. Both are waiting for 3 weeks to 1 month. On the other hand, the air conditioner is not in the replacement season, so it is in stock, but next March. The supply of new products from each company is uncertain. After that, the shortage of telework is continuing for home-use printers. This is also waiting for two months depending on the model due to the shortage of semiconductors. " Mr. Inaba from the refrigerator. "Large companies in cutting-edge fields, such as Apple and Samsung, which have established supply chains and have high bargaining power with semiconductor manufacturers, are in a situation where they can secure inventories reasonably well, but Japanese electrical equipment manufacturers cannot easily procure them. Since we use mature household appliances, we do not anticipate a shortage of semiconductors in the first place, which makes the situation worse. "