While weak demand for consumer chips lingers, structural shortages of automotive chips remains unresolved, prompting China semiconductor players including Zhuzhou CRRC Times Electric (TEC) to strengthen investments in capacity expansions for car-use power components such as IGBT and MOSFET to satisfy domestic demand, according to industry sources.

The global supply chain is entering uncharted waters where geopolitical power struggle, climate change, and economic uncertainties are coalescing into a perfect storm, and old playbooks may no longer work. At the DIGITIMES Asia-hosted Supply Chain Summit hybrid event that opened on September 27 in Taipei, experts including Hinrich Foundation research fellow Alex Capri, Wall Street Journal chief economic commentator Greg Ip, and Tata Motors Purchase and Supply Chain vice president Hemant Barge advised companies to watch out for the new megatrends and adopt new strategies to thrive in the challenging time.

PCB materials supplier Eternal Materials remains cautious about its sales prospects in the third quarter of 2022, citing the ongoing inventory adjustments across the supply chains in which it is involved, according to the Taiwan-based company.

Drops in NAND flash prices will still be significant in the fourth quarter of 2022, as demand for data centers and enterprise storage starts weakening, with the memory prices set to continue falling but at a slower pace in the first half of 2023, according to industry sources.