A huge imbalance between supply and demand continues to plague the global electronics value chain. For automotive manufacturers it means parts shortages, price increases and long lead times. It’s not unusual these days for automotive microcontrollers to have lead times of a year or more. Automotive-grade semiconductors are not much better, with lead times averaging more than nine months, according to supply chain experts Jabil and Supplyframe. Their estimate for automotive-grade integrated circuit lead times is somewhere between 40 and 60 weeks.
In the wake of such turbulence, some automakers have been omitting certain connected features from new models while others have dramatically scaled back output. With projections that these shortages could run into 2024, a new strategy is needed. Jabil and Supplyframe believe organisations can become more resilient by prioritising commodity and category management and remembering that short-term wins must not come at the expense of long-term needs. John Ward, Senior Director, DSI Solutions, at Supplyframe, takes Automotive World on a deep dive into the current situation and the outlook moving forward.
