Technology is an essential part of our day-to-day life. With the increase in technological advances, chips are used in almost everything nowadays.
The auto industry has been hit the hardest during supply chain shortages over the last few years. Cars now have computer chips that control everything, from safety features to automatic starting. While on average, 2000 chips or more are used in Electric vehicles. Ford Motor Company and General Motors were forced to stop production at many factories due to the lack of semiconductor chips, supply chain issues, and COVID-19 leading to the estimated $210 billion loss in 2021.
Gaming consoles and computers were also hit hard. Consoles such as the Sony PS5, Microsoft Xbox Series X, and Nintendo Switch were nearly impossible to get your hands on. While Apple, which historically has the power to place large orders years ahead of time, has been affected. Apple suffered from chip shortages through 2021, which led to the iPhone 12’s launch being delayed by weeks.
Even Canon, the printer manufacturer, has now had to ship ink cartridges with no chips inside. These chips detect ink levels and verify the authenticity of ink cartridges. Without the chips, printers are showing error messages, and Canon is providing instructions on how to get around this error on its website. Companies are working to ensure this doesn’t happen again by building factories within the US. However, it takes years to build these facilities.