Intel, TSMC executives say that semiconductor shortage will extend into 2022

Silicon wafer in die attach machine in semiconductor manufacturing [Image: Shutterstock]

Executives of Intel and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC) have cautioned that the semiconductor shortage will likely extend into 2022.

The shortage has hurt the automobile and tech industries since the chips are used in a number of devices such as cars, laptops and smartphones.

Intel Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Pat Gelsinger told Washington Post that the chip shortage would take "a couple of years" to abate, as demand was rising amid limited manufacturing capacity.

Intel plans to scale production of automotive chips within six to nine months, Gelsinger told the publication.

Contract chipmaker TSMC, too, warned that the shortage would continue into 2022, Bloomberg reported.

"We see the demand continue to be high," TSMC CEO CC Wei told the business news website. He said its auto industry clients could expect chip shortages to begin easing next quarter.

"In 2023, I hope we can offer more capacity to support our customers. At that time, we'll start to see the supply chain tightness release a little bit," Wei said.

Nvidia, which makes graphics processing units (GPUs), said demand would exceed supply for the rest of 2021.

"Overall demand remains very strong and continues to exceed supply, while our channel inventories remain quite lean. We expect demand to continue to exceed supply for much of this year. We believe we will have sufficient supply to support sequential growth beyond Q1," said Colette Kress, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Nvidia in a statement.