Component shortage outlook for 2022 predicts improvements, but four roadblocks will remain

By: Han Black | 28.04.2022, 15:25

Copy Research also shared its global market estimates, with Mac shipment the most prominent, but Counterpoint Research also provided its predictions for the year ahead.

It shows that we can expect a significant improvement in the course of 2022, but shortages will remain in four component categories …

Background

A combination of factors caused the global shortage in chip supply. These include increased demand for technology during the pandemic, COVID-related production disruption, and a growing demand for chips by car-makers; as cars rely on increasing numbers of microprocessor units.

The biggest problem isn’t with GPUs or CPUs but more common chips such as power management and display drivers. These relatively low-tech chips are used in a huge number of devices, including Apple ones.

Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed that supply constraints cost Apple $6B in each of the last two quarters, and we should get a further update at the company’s earnings call later today.

Component shortage outlook for 2022

The report shows the component shortage levels for both the first and second half of the last year and includes a map of its predictions of the future.

The company has broken down the report into four areas :

  • Display (display driver chips, for example)
  • Memory
  • Processors
  • Other circuit boards (wi-fi chips, for example)

Then subdivides those into more specific component categories, painting broad brush-strokes of the shortage levels for each.

Display driver chips were in particularly short supply last year. Counterpoint estimates that demand exceeded supply by 20-30% in the first half of the year, and by 10-20% in the second half. However, it believes that supply will catch up with demand in the course of this year.

The market intelligence company believes that the shortages of seven components last year have been completely eliminated by the year’s end, and four additional components will still be in danger :

  • LCM – PMIC (display chips)
  • Discrete GPUs (which shouldn’t impact Apple)
  • Power management chip
  • Wi-fi chips

Photo: Adi Goldstein/Unsplash