The Current Video Podcast by Future Electronics

THE LATEST MARKET CONDITIONS UPDATE
A YEAR IN REVIEW

Stay up to speed on the latest lead time trends and other significant hurdles in the embedded semiconductor industry.

Season 1: Episode 10

Also Available On:

Lead Time Trends and Market Conditions Report, A Year in Review

The global semiconductor industry (and the economy for that matter) has been experiencing significant challenges with product availability, extended lead times and electronics products struggling to get to market. 

Out of all the complexities of the electronic components industry, the biggest one has been lead times. With that being said, the biggest question nowadays that we must ask ourselves when starting a design is:

“If I select this part, will it be available?”

Key Takeaways

The global semiconductor industry has been hit hard in 2020-2021, causing many shifting trends in terms of electronics engineering.

  • To best manage the extended electronic component lead times, engineers are focusing on redesigning boards rather than designing brand new. This includes even complex proprietary products such as MCUs and RF modules that so rarely get changed and usually require a lot of effort.

 

  • Despite that shift, we are still seeing a rise in new projects for the next generation of designs. As that unfolds, the questions design engineers ask is also changing. It was once beneficial to determine the best part with the functionality needed and with cost coming into the equation. Now, there is an added question we rarely heard previously from engineers: “When is [the part] available and what is the guaranteed life cycle?”

 

  • We are also seeing engineers designing their boards twice, with both designs occupying the same functions, but with different proprietary products such as MCUs and radios so that they have options if lead times continue to stretch. As a result, parts like voltage regulation and passives are all being chosen with an even stronger consideration for dual sourcing.
Future Electronics President Anthony Alberga

A word from Anthony Alberga, Future Electronics Corporate Vice President

“Robust demand across all vertical market segments continue to fuel the need for raw materials and incremental capacity expansion. Most manufacturers remain forced to increase their prices across all product offerings in an effort to keep up with their manufacturing, material and logistics cost increases.

Although the length of the current environment remains unknown, we believe that we will not see much relief over the next 3-4 months from a supply perspective. We strongly encourage all of our customers to provide visibility to their long-term demand so as to minimize supply disruptions.”

Need Additional Market Conditions Expertise?

See our full Market Conditions report, updated routinely with information gathered from multiple sources and qualified by Future Electronics Product Marketing to guide you in the right direction.

Follow us: