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Recently, the word “semiconductor shortage” is often seen in the news. Semiconductors are used in electrical appliances such as personal computers and smartphones, but what kind of impact will a shortage of them have on our lives?—I would like to ask economic analyst Mariko Masui.
There are several reasons for the current global shortage of semiconductors. The biggest reason is that the new coronavirus has reduced the number of people working in factories and reduced production. In addition, due to the new coronavirus, demand for staying at home is also a factor in developed countries and some emerging countries such as Indonesia. It can be said that the demand for semiconductors has increased due to the sales of home appliances that allow people to spend their time comfortably at home, including the improvement of the environment for remote work. Although Japanese manufacturers have maintained their presence in semiconductor manufacturing equipment, they have lost their competitiveness in the production of semiconductors themselves. According to statistics from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Japanese manufacturers accounted for 50.3% of the global market share in 1988, but it dropped to 10.0% in 2019. As a result, we are currently dependent on foreign countries. In 2021, due to the shortage of workers due to the corona disaster, the port was congested, and there was a situation where containers waited for several days offshore. Semiconductor prices soared due to delays in parts procurement and rising transportation costs, and the shortage worsened.
In the first place, semiconductors consist of "conductors" such as iron and copper that conduct electricity, and "insulators" such as rubber that do not conduct electricity. It is located in the middle. It is suitable for controlling electrical appliances because it has the property of easily conducting electricity when the temperature rises, and it has functions such as storing information and performing numerical calculations and processing. Semiconductors are now used in most of the electrical appliances around us. Computers, mobile phones, refrigerators, TVs, etc., the list goes on and on. With the advancement of technology these days, the lifespan of electrical appliances is getting longer and longer. Naturally, new products will not sell if they are hard to break. As a result, the management of manufacturers becomes more and more difficult. Chinese manufacturers such as Haier have entered the Japanese market, and competition is intensifying. We have reduced initial defects and enhanced customer support. Therefore, manufacturers want to raise the price of their products, but consumers won't buy them just because they are higher. Therefore, Japanese manufacturers are aiming for high added value. For example, some washing machines are inverter type and some are not. Inverter type finely adjusts the rotation of the motor according to the weight and washing method of the laundry, which leads to saving of electricity bills. Recently, the “Internet of Things”, which is called IoT (Internet of Things), is attracting attention. For example, rice cookers and robot vacuum cleaners can be operated remotely from a smartphone without being there. IoT is the technology that connects things to the Internet. Semiconductors are also used in this technology.