In case you’ve been fortunate enough to miss this, the tech world is currently suffering a semiconductor shortage, which is affecting everything from high-end computers to cars. Adding to that gloomy-doomy overhang, Intel has now warned that it may have a shortage of CPU chips going into Q3 2021.
Intel’s suffering CPU stockpile
This news comes by way of Intel’s Q2 2021 Earnings Conference Call (transcribed in full by Seeking Alpha). On the call, chief financial officer George Davis brings up the matter.
“We remain in a highly constrained environment where we are unable to fully supply customer demand. In CCG, we continue to see very strong demand for our client products and expect TAM growth to continue. However, persistent industry-wide component in substrate shortages are expected to lower CCG revenues sequentially. We expect supply shortages to continue for several quarters, but appear to be particularly acute for clients in Q3.”
Tom’s Hardware points out that the issue here isn’t just the general chip shortage: Intel’s lacking Ajinomoto ABF substrates, which are used for insulting computer chips. In a nutshell, this severely hampers its ability to actually build CPUs. Intel had assumed it would still have some substrates left over from Q2 to bolster its Q3 production, but no such luck.
“We did a really good job of eating up a lot of our substrates, some of which we thought we would have available to us in Q3,” continues Davis. “The supply impact is more of a volume impact.”
It’s not all doom and gloom however. While Intel expects Q3 to be rough, for Q4 it’s, “… doing everything [it] can to help [its] substrate suppliers increase supply.”