When is the electronics components shortage expected to end?

As the electronics components shortage crisis remains a hot topic the question on everybody’s mind is when can we expect it to end?

The year may be flying by fast for some but for many companies in the electronics industry the current components shortage crisis will be taking its toll. Normality feels like a long time ago with many companies asking the question; when is it going to end? The problem is there’s no definitive answer as the pressure is increasingly growing with the demand for evolving technology. The industry is being told to prepare for shortages throughout 2018 and 2019 forecasts and the fallout from the shortages could last for years after this period.

The crisis is cutting deep in to the industry with household names such as Panasonic feeling the pinch; a sure sign that no one is immune. Even the Playstation 4 saw demand outgrow supply in Japan earlier this year as a sudden surge in popularity was thwarted by a chunk of ceramic – a multilayer ceramic capacitor in short supply. Many companies that thought they could sail out the storm are now themselves struggling to navigate the supply chain as the problem is industry wide. Currently, surface mount device (SMD), multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) and SMD resistors are highly impacted, with semiconductor lines also being greatly affected. The key market segments currently driving the increase in demand are automotive, industrial and consumer sectors.

Business as usual in the electronics industry may be a while off yet, our advise would be to not panic, set realistic expectations with your suppliers, leverage relationships and don’t panic buy from un-trustworthy sources.

At UK Electronics we offer a full electronic component / PCB procurement service to all of our customers. Our dedicated Stores team maintain an active common part stock holding of well over 10,000 stock lines in our onsite warehouse all ready to be allocated to your products. This scale of stock holding allows UK Electronics to minimise any chance of component shortages and allows to cut down on delivery times, enabling us to turn your order round in the least time possible. If you’re struggling to find an obsolete item our devoted Purchasing department will use their industry contacts to track down any hard to find components or if this is still not possible they will help you to find an alternative solution.

Please contact us if you’d like to discuss component sourcing.