A close-up of the Infineon microcontroller kit XMC 4700 is shown at an exhibition during the annual shareholders meeting of German semiconductor manufacturer Infineon in Munich, February 21, 2019.
Andreas Gebert | Reuters
Top economic and national security officials at the White House have stepped up efforts to help the U.S. auto industry combat a growing semiconductor chip shortage that has forced production cuts worldwide, a White House spokeswoman said.
President Joe Biden’s administration has held meetings with auto companies and suppliers to identify bottlenecks and urged companies to work together to address the shortage, the spokeswoman said Wednesday.
The White House has also mandated U.S. embassies to identify how overseas and chip producing companies can help solve the global shortage and to work with international partners and allies to spur them on the current shortage of to pack.
The effort also includes an outreach to Taiwan, home of major chip maker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), to find ways to resolve the shortage.
In a letter dated Feb. 17, Biden’s top economic adviser, Brian Deese, thanked Taiwan’s economic minister Wang Mei-hua for helping to resolve the deficit in partnership with the island’s manufacturers.
Along with Deese, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan is involved in the effort, as are other senior aides.
This month, US officials held a meeting with Wang in which the United States thanked Taiwan for help solving the auto chip shortage, she said.
The White House spokeswoman said officials recognize that steps must be taken to prevent future shortages, which is why the government is launching a comprehensive review of critical supply chains to identify vulnerabilities and take steps such as stimulating increased domestic production in The United States.
General Motors said on Feb. 9 that the global chip deficit could skim to $ 2 billion from 2021 on profits and extended production cuts in three North American plants. It also said it would partially build and later finish vehicles at two other factories due to the shortage of chips.
No. 2 US carmaker Ford Motor warned this month that the chip shortage could lead to a 10% to 20% loss in production in the first quarter, resulting in a potential $ 1 billion to $ 2 operating profit hit , 5 billion. It said it had lost some of the production of its best-selling F-150 pick-up truck.
A shortage of auto chips could affect nearly 1 million units of global light vehicle production in the first quarter, data company IHS Markit said Tuesday, adding that it still expects to see most of the volume in the remainder of 2021. will be restored.
In a January 19 letter to Deese first reported by Reuters, the United Auto Workers union and auto trade groups asked the Biden government to consider “encouraging major silicon wafer foundries to increase the production of automotive grade wafers.”
The shortage of chips has hit many other car manufacturers, including Toyota Motor, Volkswagen, Stellantis, Renault, Subaru, Nissan Motor, Honda Motor and Mazda Motor.