The semiconductor lead time has exceeded six months

The issue of global chip shortages has plagued the semiconductor supply chain for more than a year. Although the supply of these types of chips such as CPU and GPU seems to have improved recently, in fact, the delivery time of many parts and components in the entire supply chain is quite long. It’s not uncommon to see it last year.

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According to Theregister, a recent Susquehanna report shows that ancillary semiconductors, that is, products used in CPUs, GPUs, and SoCs, have a lead time of more than six months. This is based on the data of distribution channels. If companies sign long-term large contracts with suppliers, the impact is relatively small, but those small and medium-sized enterprises that rely on distribution channels will be affected more. Some products have more inventory, so the degree of impact is not so serious. In addition to the time effect, prices have also increased compared to the past few years.

Susquehanna cited several recent major influencing factors, including unstable geopolitics, the spread of the COVID-19 epidemic, natural disasters such as earthquakes, and some of the affected areas are key areas for semiconductor production. The semiconductor lead time was less than 14 weeks in the second half of 2020, and then increased to 27 weeks, and then the cycle became longer and longer. The components most rumored to be affected are analog chips, things like signal amplifiers, or power-controlled oscillators, with lead times increasing by 18 weeks in the most recent month.

The only positive news comes from passive components, which are a few days shorter than in the past, with a current lead time of 25 weeks.