Semiconductor Q1 2022 Lead Time Report

The State of the Global Electronic Components Market

Currently, the global electronic components market is not in a great place. But its condition has improved significantly from the unprecedented disruptions that defined 2021.

Last month, Susquehanna Financial Group reported that average part lead times grew to 25.8 weeks in Q4 2021. The global chip shortage, unseasonably high demand, and clustered COVID-19 outbreaks in several manufacturing hubs are driving the delays. Plus, component companies are struggling to recruit enough skilled workers to staff their plants.

However, chipmakers worldwide are beginning to bring new production capacity online. Thanks to industry 4.0 innovations, many of those factories will boast a high level of autonomous functionality. As a result, the heads of AMD and Nvidia expect the supply chain bottleneck to finally ease up soon.

Sourcengine’s market intelligence indicates that the semiconductor sector will move closer to normalcy in the next two months. Our forecast asserts microelectronic lead times and pricing stability will be up 25.59 percent quarter-over-quarter. Those developments suggest that the cost and fulfillment volatility that has affected the field since late 2020 is reaching an inflection point.

Key Q1 2022 Lead Time Report Takeaways

To start, most leading providers need at least 20 weeks to deliver volatile memory chips to buyers. On balance, older product types like SRAM, SDRAM, and DDRI/DDRII are more readily available than newer technologies like DDRII and DDR4. Supplies and more recently developed components are running low among multiple suppliers and are trending upward in price. That said, almost all Cypress Semiconductor SRAM products are on allocation.

However, as opposed to Q4 2021, volatile memory product pricing and availability will remain stable in the first quarter.

Unfortunately, Sourcengine projects EEPROM, flash-NAND, and flash-NOR will become more expensive and harder to find in the next few months.

Our information also indicates general discrete parts will experience an across-the-board jump in lead times and cost. Most power components are also set to rise in price and delivery dates in Q1. Visible LEDs will vary by brand. Cree, Everlight Electronics, and Samsung items will be stable, but Osram and Vishay Intertechnology products will go through more delays and upward volatility.

By contrast, optocoupler pricing and lead times look to stay consistent throughout the quarter.

Logic and linear chips will be less accessible as the winter goes on, with multiple packages and families already allocated. Conversely, Toshiba’s linear devices should remain cost stable with 10 to 14 weekly times over the same period.