Semiconductor shortage: industry heads for “supersize bust”

The semiconductor shortage could soon become a semiconductor glut as demand for electronic gadgets falls while state subsidies could mean a surplus of supply.

Semiconductor factory
The semiconductor industry is approaching overcapacity
(Image credit: © Zhao Qirui/VCG via Getty Images)

“Chipmakers are the coalface of the modern economy,” says Cormac Mullen on Bloomberg. Demand for semiconductors is a good “leading indicator” for stockmarkets and the economy.

The industry is heading for a slump, say Debby Wu, Jeran Wittenstein and Ian King, also on Bloomberg. The global shortage of chips that started during the pandemic is not over yet – average wait times were 27 weeks in June, up from less than 15 weeks pre-pandemic – but the cycle has clearly started to turn.

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Markets editor

Alex is an investment writer who has been contributing to MoneyWeek since 2015. He has been the magazine’s markets editor since 2019. 

Alex has a passion for demystifying the often arcane world of finance for a general readership. While financial media tends to focus compulsively on the latest trend, the best opportunities can lie forgotten elsewhere. 

He is especially interested in European equities – where his fluent French helps him to cover the continent’s largest bourse – and emerging markets, where his experience living in Beijing, and conversational Chinese, prove useful. 

Hailing from Leeds, he studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the University of Oxford. He also holds a Master of Public Health from the University of Manchester.