Director of CAICT: Mobile phone chip supply cycle extended, RF front end needs to be increased

 On September 12, Yu Xiaohui, president and deputy secretary of the Party Committee of the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, said that in the first half of 2021, the world experienced a round of "chip shortage crisis", with the cumulative number of automobile production stoppages worldwide being about 3 million, and the supply cycle of mobile phone chips also extended from 3 months to 12 months.

One important reason is that the demand for chips from new digital terminals has increased significantly. Among them, the demand for MCUs for smart cars is more than four times that of traditional cars, and the demand for RF front-end devices for 5G mobile phones has also increased by more than 50%.

In fact, since the beginning of 2021, the "chip shortage" in the automobile industry has become the norm, and even many car companies have stopped production due to lack of chips; recently, IMI, a major EMS company in the automotive market, stated that demand from car manufacturers and other manufacturers remains strong, and it takes time to increase production capacity, so the chip supply shortage will last at least a year.

The shortage and price increase of MCU is even more serious. In addition to the high-end market, some mid- and low-end markets are also in short supply. However, according to what I have learned from the industry, the shortage and price increase situation has eased since late August. In the view of industry insiders: "Some mid- and low-end MCUs are not out of stock. They can still be bought if the price is right."