Yes, I'm in the auto Industry:
It's not just the chips, it's a lot of parts. Kind of the best way to think about it is like a rolling blackout. One moment we have all the parts we need, the next something crazy slowed everything down.
Like it or not we are in a global economy and we get all sorts of stuff from all over. Supply chains are impacted by everything from Covid outbreaks in the factory - truckers - ports ect, factory fires (chips), the pipeline of C containers used for shipping those parts and other goods are backed up because they are stuck on tractor trailers (not enough drivers), ports being backed up because of those c containers (can't put it on or take it off a ship if you don't have a method to ship containers back), and then the Suez Canal gets stuck.
As the nation rolls out of Covid protocols and folks driving habits begin to change back towards what it used to be; there has been an increased demand for vehicles (especially 4 wheel or all wheel drive units). Due to Covid, tons of people relocated out of the city and moved into suburbs or more rural areas and need trucks. BTW, this drove up the prices of trucks as well as home values without a chip issue.
From Automotive News: It took 11 weeks of microchip shortages before the number of vehicles taken out of North American production schedules reached 400,000, in late March. A little over a month later, the total is now approaching 800,000.
Those figures, from AutoForecast Solutions, show North America has been hit harder than any other region. The worldwide tally has now topped 2 million. AFS projects that at current rates, more than 3 million will be affected across the globe.
That's the annual output of a dozen busy assembly plants. And the longer things drag on, the higher the chances that a significant amount of lost production won't be made up.
"As scary and difficult and challenging as the early days were in COVID, the current supply shock is just as frustrating, if not more frustrating, for our team," Ford CEO Jim Farley said in our Congress Conversations interview that aired last week.
Now dealers — and consumers — are really beginning to feel it.
Chip shortages are one of the key drivers pulling pre-owned prices up. I wouldn't get rid of a four wheel drive truck now unless you really needed the money, because you will not be able to replace it for a while. There was one thing - for a couple of years, auctions have been loaded up with Ram Trucks as they come off lease or become decommissioned from rental car companies. When you see those prices go up - you will know that the market is getting tight in your area.
