Chip crunch to last through 2022, says Toyota supplier
Japan's Rohm Co-- whose customers include Toyota Motor Corp, Ford Motor Co and Honda Motor Co--says that vital semiconductors for automobiles and industrial machinery will likely remain in short supply at least throughout next year, adding to ominous warnings about further fallout from the global chip crisis.
The Kyoto-based chipmaker has been hampered by a severe shortage of key materials as well as full production lines, said CEO Isao Matsumoto. The company started beefing up its capacity last September and plans to spend another 70 billion yen ($636 million) in the current fiscal year, but the full contribution from such investments won't be seen immediately because production machinery is taking longer to arrive, he added.
"All of our production facilities have been running at their full capacity since September last year, but orders from customers are overwhelming," Matsumoto said in an interview this week. "I don't think we can fulfil all the backlog of orders next year."
It joins peers like Infineon Technologies AG in warning that supply chain struggles are likely to persist for far longer than previously anticipated. Chip delivery times have already surpassed 20 weeks, as the Covid-19 delta variant complicates efforts to resume normal operations from Japan to Southeast Asia.
Material and component shortages, compounded by jammed trains, ships and planes, have forced global automakers from Toyota to Volkswagen AG to cut or suspend production in recent weeks. The Japanese car giant said last week it would temporarily halt production at 14 plants.
Founded more than 60 years ago, Rohm has become an integral part of the automotive supply chain as carmakers add more electronics and semiconductors to vehicles. The Japanese manufacturer's automotive solutions include devices used for power management, air conditioning, lighting and entertainment.
The most severe bottleneck is a lack of materials like those required to make leadframes--the metal structure inside a semiconductor unit that communicate signals with the outside of the package.