The shortage of semiconductors continues to hurt Samsung, Honda and Volkswagen

The shortage of semiconductors continues to hurt Samsung, Honda and Volkswagen

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On Wednesday, Samsung (SSNLF) Koh Dong-jin, co-CEO, told investors that the South Korean technology giant is having problems with its supply chain. The company is addressing the shortage of semiconductors and could still experience problems in the second quarter, he added.
Meanwhile, the car industry – which has been plagued by the deficit for the past few months – points to deteriorating conditions.
Honda (HMC) and Volkswagen (VLKAF) both said this week the computer chips had hampered their operations, especially in the United States. In a statement on Wednesday, Honda confirmed that it would suspend production at most of its North American factories next week, in part due to the lack of semiconductors.

“We have still managed a number of issues regarding the supply chain related to the effects of Covid-19, congestion in various ports, the shortage of microchips and severe winter weather over the past few weeks,” a company spokesman said.

As a result, factories from Ohio to Ontario are expected to darken for pieces next week, and “somehow all our car plants in the US and Canada will be affected,” the representative said.

Other major car manufacturers, including Ford (F), Fiat Chrysler (FCAU), GM (GM) and Nissan (NSANF) also indicated problems. The average car uses between 50 and 150 chips and is increasingly used in driver assistance systems and navigation control.
Some GM truck owners will pay more at the pump due to a shortage of computer chips

“In 2021, we are going to suffer from it,” Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess said in an interview with CNN’s Julia Chatterley on Tuesday. ‘Not at all [vehicle] range, but some models may be limited. ‘

Diess estimates that the carmaker “has probably already lost 100,000 cars, which will be very difficult to repair in the second half.”

This is in line with estimates by UBS analysts, who previously predicted a significant production loss for Europe’s largest carmaker in the first three months of the year.

Diess also cannot see that the problem will be alleviated any time soon.

“We are seeing more constraints due to the difficult climatic conditions in America, where we had two, three semiconductor plants [the] schedule for more than … a week or so, ‘he said.

According to the CEO, the company also recently suffered disruption due to an earthquake in Japan.

“It’s actually a combination of factors that limit the supply of semiconductors,” he told CNN Business. “We hope to overcome this situation.”

CNN’s Yoonjung Seo and Hanna Ziady contributed to this report.

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