Hiding beneath the shiny surfaces of our mobile phones, games consoles and cars, computer chips work away unseen — yet we rely on them utterly to run the devices that make our daily lives possible. The pandemic has caused unprecedented swings in demand for these vital components. Lockdowns have brought a boom in sales of consumer electronics, while carmakers have had stop-start runs of production. When sales of vehicles unexpectedly revived in the second half of last year, chip manufacturers were unable to cope with the surge in demand. Already stretched supply chains were unable to respond in time.
在我们的智能手机、游戏机和汽车的光鲜表面之下，隐藏着计算机芯片。我们看不见它们怎么工作，却完全依靠它们来运行各种设备，使我们的日常生活成为可能。新冠疫情导致对这些重要组件的需求出现前所未有的波动。封锁带来了消费电子产品的销售热潮，而汽车制造商出现间歇式停产。去年下半年，当汽车销售意外复苏时，芯片制造商无法应对需求激增。已经紧绷的供应链无法及时做出回应。