What chip shortage? Semiconductor revenue reached new heights in 2021, says Gartner

Image: Shutterstock/BigBlueStudio

The spot shortage carries on, but Gartner says that hasn't stopped the semiconductor manufacture from growing by 25.1% successful 2021 to apical $500 cardinal successful gross for the archetypal time.

The latest projections don't amusement the spot shortage easing to immoderate ample grade until the second fractional of 2023, though immoderate industries are apt to spot a instrumentality to mean aboriginal this year. Until caller fabs tin beryllium built and accumulation increased, proviso volition proceed to outpace demand, which Gartner says is 1 of the superior reasons for the record-breaking profits.

SEE: Research: Digital translation initiatives absorption connected collaboration (TechRepublic Premium)

"Post"-COVID economical rebounds successful 2021 caused shortages successful the proviso concatenation that deed the automotive manufacture peculiarly hard, says Andrew Norwood, probe VP astatine Gartner. "The resulting operation of beardown request arsenic good arsenic logistics and earthy worldly terms increases drove semiconductors' mean selling terms higher, contributing to wide gross maturation successful 2021," Norwood said.

The automotive manufacture isn't the lone spot wherever mean selling prices rose: Gartner said that 5G smartphone manufacturing was a large driver, with portion accumulation doubling successful 2021 to scope 555 cardinal units.

Interestingly enough, it appears that US sanctions imposed connected Chinese spot shaper Huawei resulted successful maturation for vendors similar Qualcomm and MediaTek, which some saw gross maturation successful excess of 50% from 2020 to 2021. "Meanwhile HiSilicon, Huawei's spot subsidiary, saw gross diminution from $8.2 cardinal successful 2020 to astir $1 cardinal successful 2021," Norwood said. That's a immense hit.

Gartner besides reports that Samsung regained the apical spot successful the semiconductor manufacture (based connected revenue) from Intel for the archetypal clip since 2018, with a 31.6% gross maturation betwixt 2020 and 2021. Intel, connected the different hand, lone saw 0.5% maturation implicit the aforesaid period. Gartner did not explicitly authorities that Samsung's leap was owed to accrued smartphone production, but Samsung itself announced a more than 50% summation successful its profits that has been attributed to accrued spot and instrumentality sales.

SEE: The COVID-19 sex gap: Why women are leaving jobs and however to get them backmost to work. (free PDF) (TechRepublic)

SK Hynix, Micron Technology, Broadcom, Texas Instruments, NVIDIA and AMD circular retired the apical 10, which collectively relationship for much than fractional of the full semiconductor marketplace gross that Gartner reported. 

As has been covered previously, the spot shortage has been driven by proviso concatenation disruptions triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. While different industries person rebounded, the semiconductor assemblage has had trouble, which Deloitte said has much to bash with however it conducted concern earlier the pandemic than the pandemic alone. 

Profits whitethorn beryllium up, but that won't halt widespread and indispensable transformation from taking spot successful the semiconductor industry. Chip makers person begun to prosecute localized production, and integer translation (long resisted successful the industry) has begun successful earnest arsenic companies commencement to displacement strategies from betterment to gathering resilience. Just don't expect it to hap overnight. 

Also see

• Digital transformation: A cheat sheet (TechRepublic)
• Microsoft Power Platform: What you request to cognize astir it (free PDF) (TechRepublic)
• Artificial Intelligence Ethics Policy (TechRepublic Premium)
• The spot shortage: How should your concern attack buying tech and components? (TechRepublic)
• Digital transformation: More must-read coverage (TechRepublic connected Flipboard)