The global chip shortage situation will continue to improve in the second half of 2022 as the gap between supply and demand shrinks for most components, according to the latest report from analysts at Counterpoint Research, which tracks the supply situation for smartphone components.
Over the past two years, chip shortages have haunted many industries, but since late 2021 the gap between supply and demand has been closing, indicating that shortages will soon be eliminated.
Stock levels of chips for 5G smartphones, including application processors, power amplifiers and RF transceivers, are said to have increased significantly, although bottlenecks remain — such as 4G-enabled chips and power controllers.
The PC market has narrowed the supply gap for critical components such as power controllers, Wi-Fi and I/O interfaces. Moreover, analysts believe that shipments will be revised downward in the first half of 2022, mainly due to increased inventory in the channel and a slowdown in consumer PC sales.
“Last year’s supply shortage coincided with a recovery in consumer and business demand, which caused a lot of headaches throughout the supply chain. But over the past few months, we’ve seen a decline in demand that’s matched perfectly with an increase in inventory,” notes Dale Gai, director of semiconductors and components at Counterpoint Research.