What you need to know
- IDC expects that the semiconductor industry will normalize and balance by the middle of 2022.
- The same report states that there is a "potential for overcapacity in 2023" for semiconductors.
- This overcapacity would be caused by semiconductor manufacturing efforts coming online by the end of 2022.
Semiconductor availability could see major growth over the coming couple of years, according to a report by IDC. In fact, IDC states that there's a "potential for overcapacity in 2023" as manufacturers expand capacity to make chips by the end of 2022. If that does occur, it would be a significant shift from the current global chip shortage.
Due to the global chip shortage, semiconductor manufacturers haven't been able to meet the demand for certain products, such as the Xbox Series X and the best GPUs. The demand for these types of devices will likely stick around, but manufacturers will have the ability to meet demand due to increased production efforts.
Several manufacturers, including Intel, Samsung, and TSMC, have plans for advanced chipmaking facilities. The U.S. government recently passed legislation to help the chipmaking process within the country. While some of the largest chipmakers plan to increase their efforts, foundries cannot be built overnight. Most of the expansions in the supply chain won't lead to results until the second half of 2022.
"The semiconductor content story is intact and not only does it benefit the semiconductor companies, but the unit volume growth in many of the markets that they serve will also continue to drive very good growth for the semiconductor market," says Mario Morales, group vice president, Enabling Technologies and Semiconductors at IDC.
While it could be over a year before supply catches up with demand, there could be good news on the way for people on the market for new hardware.
