German Infineon reports semiconductor stocks at "all-time low"

The German group Infineon is one of the world's largest manufacturers of electronic chips.

REUTERS - Lisi Niesner

Text by: RFI Follow

2 min

Hit by the health crisis, the semiconductor sector is faced with an unprecedented imbalance between peak demand and insufficient supply.

German chipmaker Infineon reports stocks at "

 historic low 

" and does not expect any improvement.

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Infineon, which is one of the world's largest manufacturers of electronic chips, is unable to meet demand due to the health crisis, but also to bad weather.

In the midst of a pandemic, during containment, Infineon had to shut down for 20 days its 8,000 employees working on its site in Malaysia.

A considerable delay that the German group could not catch up and which today results in a shortage of production of around 450 million electronic chips.

In addition to the health crisis, there were recent floods which flooded several regions of western Germany, disrupting the production chain.

And this winter, the strong storm that hit Austin, Texas, temporarily destabilized local semiconductor manufacturing.  

Also to listen: Semiconductors, the new oil in the economy

The German group is therefore forced to downsize, while its order books are full for the next two years.

Infineon is not the only company in this case, almost two thirds of German manufacturers are slowing down their production for the same reasons. 

And according to the boss of Infineon, the chip supply crisis is expected to last until 2022.

To read also: Shortage of semiconductors: the dependence of the West on Asia in question

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