Susquehanna Financial Group reported that semiconductor lead times were shortened by 4 days in September, the largest drop in years, indicating that the industry supply crisis is easing.
According to Susquehanna’s research, semiconductor lead times (the time difference between ordering a chip and delivering it) averaged 26.3 weeks in September. This compares with nearly 27 weeks the previous month.
Susquehanna analyst Christopher Rolland said in a research note that wait times are contracting across all key product categories, with power management and analog chips seeing the biggest declines.
A global chip shortage has plagued a large number of industries over the past year, with automakers and other manufacturers struggling to get enough semiconductors. Some supply constraints still exist, but now many chipmakers are worried about the opposite problem: high chip inventories.
Slowing sales in certain markets, such as personal computers, have left Intel Corp. and advanced microdevice companies with lower-than-expected demand. Earlier this month, AMD’s third-quarter sales fell more than $1 billion short of expectations, and Intel Corp. is preparing to cut jobs in response to the downturn.
The Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Index, a key benchmark for chip stocks, has fallen 44 percent this year.
