Chips & Supply Chain Disruption
The supply chain disruption that we saw in 2021/22 has eased somewhat. For example, the port of LA no longer has 100 ships waiting in line to unload. However, reports continue of pressure on raw and semi-finished materials that are needed for our domestic industries to produce.
One sector that has been sensitive to the recent disruption is Semiconductor chips! Until the supply issues caused by Covid, it's not sure if anyone realized how vital a component they were to the economy. Well, we do now. The Internet of Things came back to bite us.
So it was good news that a key component of the recently passed CHIP bill recognizes the critical nature of their supply to the US economy.
COVID- Effect on Semiconductors
The bill aims to correct long-term, a chronic shortage that has affected everything from cars and trucks to fridges and video games as well as make the US less dependent on what can be seen as risky supply chains. But let’s take cars as an example: It was estimated even as late as Q3 2022 that thousands of cars were parked awaiting final assembly of their chip-supported components. Cars can contain as many as 150 tiny processors that support functionality from engine timing to GPS directions.
Most of the chips carmakers need are less powerful, inexpensive, and light-power however Covid broke this supply chain. Car demand dropped like a rock at the start of the Covid epidemic so manufacturers canceled orders but then all the people isolating at home bought massive numbers of electrical goods.
That meant that by the time the car manufacturers came back asking for chips, their production slots were taken and the car makers were squeezed out and pushed out. Even though Covid has eased, renewed demand for practically every consumer product on the market means there are still not enough to meet the needs of car makers or many OEMs.
The CHIP Bill Can Soften Future Shocks
This $280B bill establishes subsidies and incentives to support U.S. semiconductor manufacturing, R&D, and supply chain security. This bill was touted as a way to make the United States more competitive with China. However, the last element mentioned “supply chain security” has also played a big part in its passage. The reliance on a few offshore manufacturing plants really brought the supply chain into sharp focus.
Case in point. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSM) is the largest manufacturer of semiconductor chips. TSM makes around 90% of advanced chips globally. It is also estimated to control c. 53% of the global semiconductor foundry market in revenue. That is a supply chain bottleneck waiting to happen – even without Covid or any China-Taiwan tension.
Many automakers are placing more emphasis on the supply chain and indeed many now have people dedicated to strategic semiconductor management. It’s also clear that consolidating key components in one or two manufacturing plants is very risky despite the cost savings achieved when there isn’t a crisis. This new mindset and the bill will drive up US production for semiconductors.
DTI Grommet Edging Supports the Semiconductor Industry
DTi supports the CHIP Bill because many of its clients depend on semiconductors to make their products. DTi designs & manufactures best-in-class grommet edging -Spring-Fast®- that protects wiring for OEM equipment supplied to this industry. It importantly provides several key benefits that make Spring-Fast® an often unsung but important wire protection component:
- Installs faster & easier without adhesive
- Improves task efficiency by 9.5x
- Saves 49% of total install cost
- DTi products are US made
Spring-Fast T and BT series
Above: Spring-Fast T and BT series
DTi has a range of clients using Spring-Fast grommets who provide related equipment to the semiconductor industry: Applied Materials, KLA Tencor, Kulicke & Soffa, and LAM Research to name a few.
The equipment in this industry tends to have irregular cutouts and varied wire routing requirements so it requires the versatility of a Spring-Fast to conform to a myriad of hole and edge configurations. Spring-Fast can be removed and repositions without loss of edge retention…and note NO ADHESIVE.
By doing so it allows for protection to be put in place with nearly instantaneous wiring harness integration which optimizes the assembly process.
Supporting this bill which invests in US-based semiconductor production will help them and DTi – and contribute to a stronger manufacturing base in the US.
Check out Spring-Fast for yourself: Request free samples here
Find out more about the Spring-Fast product range
In Europe contact DTi GmbH in Hamburg at: customerservice@dti-devicetech.eu
