To put it plainly, the Coronavirus pandemic has been the primary cause of the
chip shortage. ... The cost of silicon has risen substantially due to the mass production of the COVID-19 vaccines; the silicon needed to make the vials is the same as the silicon used to manufacture
chips and personal computers.
The world is in the grips of a global
chip shortage because of demand for semiconductors surging far beyond capacity for supply. The
shortage is crippling players in industries as diverse and far afield as automotives and smartphones—though carmakers have it the worst.
According to Goldman Sachs, 169 US industries embed semiconductors in their products. The bank is forecasting a 20% average shortfall of computer
chips among affected industries, with some of the components used to make
chips in short supply until at least this fall and possibly into 2022
Several factors are driving the crunch, which was initially concentrated in the
auto industry. The first is the coronavirus pandemic, which plunged the global economy into recession last year, upending supply chains and changing consumer shopping patterns. Carmakers cut back orders for chips while tech companies, whose products were boosted by lockdown living, snapped up as many as they could.
Other shock, such as US government sanctions on Chinese technology companies had also contributed to the shortage of supply.
Blame Trump!