The semiconductor shortage and how it is affecting the AV industry

Back in May we sent out a newsletter warning of supply chain delays for the audio-visual industry. Unfortunately, things are getting worse rather than better and, additionally, many industry experts are saying that they expect the delays and shortages to last until 2023.

Why?
There are several reasons causing the delays. First, there are only a few factories in the world that produce the chips and they are virtually all in Asia. When the pandemic hit, these factories closed whole production lines for many months and, when they gradually reopened, they did so with a much-reduced workforce due to having to social distance. Second, the companies also forecasted inaccurately that Global demand would fall due to the pandemic but, as we all know, demand remained high because there was a huge demand for technology to enable workers to work remotely.

In addition, several of the manufacturers have been tooling up to create the latest and greatest chips that are used in mobile devices and there has been less production of the older versions that many consumer electronics devices, Pro AV gear and automobiles rely on. So, as you can see, it has been a perfect storm for the industry…

What can we do?
ClarkPowell continues to track daily the availability of many major components and will communicate with customers at any stage of the procurement or integration phase of a project.

We ask all our customers to understand that equipment availability is going to be an issue for a long time to come and is completely beyond our control. What you can do is to please be understanding of the delays and be flexible if we propose solutions that may not be your preferred design yet will provide all the functionality that you require, at the time that you require it.

Contact ClarkPowell if you have any questions about your project.
✆ 800 532 1099  ⓔ [email protected]