Chipbrist

Chipbrist is a term used to describe shortages of semiconductor chips, integrated circuits, and related components that disrupt manufacturing and supply chains. The word combines "chip" with the Swedish word "brist," meaning shortage, and is commonly used in Scandinavian languages to refer to global semiconductor supply problems.

Modern electronics rely on a complex, globalized semiconductor industry with specialized fabrication facilities, long lead times, and concentrated production capacity. Chip shortages can arise from sudden demand surges, production disruptions (such as factory outages, natural disasters, or logistics interruptions), inventory reductions, and geopolitical tensions affecting trade and access to equipment or materials.

Significant chip shortages emerged worldwide in the late 2010s and intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic, when demand for consumer electronics rose while automotive and industrial sectors rebounded unevenly. Consequences included production delays, reduced output in industries like automotive and consumer electronics, price increases for components and finished goods, and shifts in purchasing practices.

Responses to chipbrist have included increased capital investment in fabrication capacity, government incentives and policies to strengthen domestic semiconductor production, supply chain diversification, and longer-term contracts and inventory strategies by manufacturers. While many efforts aim to balance supply and demand and reduce systemic vulnerabilities, semiconductor manufacturing remains capital-intensive and technologically complex, so periods of constraint may recur if capacity, investment, or geopolitical risks change.