A gamer plays on the new Sony Playstation PS5 at his home in Seoul.The chip shortage is hurting makers of gaming consoles as well. Duringthis month, the company said it's having trouble making more units of the PlayStation 5, which came out last year.
Nintendo, which makes the Switch, and Microsoft, which makes the Xbox, have also struggled to meet demand for their consoles,The shortages are also leading to The chip shortage also has roots in the US-China trade-war, Bloomberg reports. Over the summer, Chinese consumer electronics firm Huawei beganahead of new regulations from the US. In 2020 alone, chips made up roughly one-fifth of China's overall imports.
Despite these maneuvers, the chip shortage is still beginning to affect smartphone production. Apple beganThe pandemic has fueled demand for new home appliances like TVs, many of which have "smart" capabilities.The home appliance industry has gotten increasingly"smart" over the years, which means devices ranging from TVs to microwaves now have computer chips. A shortage in the industry could mean a shortage of smart appliances.
This is just the beginning of the supply/demand imbalances we will see as economies re-open. We are also seeing it in logistics (containers) and in housing. Add more stimulus to the pent-up consumer demand for everything we missed out on last year... 'Roaring 2020's here we come.