The combined output of AMD and Intel is not enough to meet the very high demand for data server processors.
Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic health crisis, multiple industries have been turned upside down. Work organization has had to be rethought, and distribution channels have been disrupted, while the various sectors of activity have experienced varying fortunes: in some cases demand has collapsed, in others it has exploded. The computer industry has been in the latter case, but has always struggled to meet this demand... and the situation is not getting any better as the economic recovery takes hold.
We've already heard about shortages in the world of graphics cards, the problems many manufacturers have in finding DRAM, or the worries even about small chips like Wi-Fi controllers. Today we learn that the situation is not much better in a very promising sector, that of processors for data centers. This is a very promising sector because it generates very high profits for suppliers and, logically, is a priority on all production lines. However, as DigiTimes points out, this priority is no longer enough.
The shortages experienced by players in the data center sector are linked to insufficient supply from AMD and Intel. As a result, the main Taiwanese manufacturers - Inventec, Mitac Computing and Wiwynn - are talking about delays that are getting longer and longer, with some of the most critical products now taking 52 to 70 weeks. Worse, these manufacturers have in some cases been unable to fulfill their orders, and there is no question of a few anecdotal orders.
In the case of Mitac Computing, we are talking about 20 to 30% of orders that cannot be honored! To make matters worse, the situation does not seem to be improving any time soon, which is quite logical with delivery times of 52 to 70 weeks. The most optimistic observers contacted by DigiTimes suggest an improvement around the fourth quarter of 2021 / first quarter of 2022. However, others, more pessimistic, do not see any significant improvement over the whole year 2022.
