Logitech has joined the growing chorus of pessimistic tech companies that see the advance of global semiconductors next year. Bracken Darrell, Logitech's managing director, told Swiss outlet Finanz und Wirtschaft that while some industries may see chip shortages subside as early as three to six months, other industries will continue to face a silicon shortfall until 2022. "As others , we felt the shortage, but we were able to buffer them well," Darrell said. "It takes time to ramp up production, but in the meantime prices have adjusted as well." The computer peripherals giant has turned to additional suppliers, Darrell was quoted as saying by Reuters, as many of its current suppliers have been unable to keep up with demand.
Is the current semiconductor shortage decreasing?
Logitech has added its voice to IBM, Intel, Nvidia and TSMC in warning that the current silicon glut will be longer than many expected, but there is a silver lining. As Darrell points out, some industries will experience shortages in 2022, but not all. Among the biggest victims of the chip shortage are automakers that cut orders last year due to the pandemic, according to the Harvard Business Review. This has freed up a lot of capacity for IT and consumer electronics, which have already blocked orders coming off the production lines shortly. While this is terrible news for the auto industry that now needs to catch up, the chips that haven't found their way into cars this year will instead go into graphics cards and other computing gear. That, combined with the recent drop in cryptocurrency prices, could mean more graphics cards and consoles like the PS5 and Xbox Series X | S could happen soon.