why is there a chip shortage

Because we all decided to work, stream, game, and run smart fridges at once, and silicon isn’t whipped up like instant coffee.

Pandemic demand exploded while factories and ports stumbled, so backlogs piled high.

Most chips come from a few foundries; building new fabs takes years, and the fancy kit (hello EUV lithography) isn’t exactly on clearance.

Cars use lots of older, cheaper chips, and those “boring” production lines were the tightest—so utes queued behind consoles and toasters.

Stir in geopolitics, export controls, the odd drought or factory fire, and you’ve got rolling shortages that refuse to leave the party.

It’s easing, but some components still play hard-to-get—like the last sausage roll at the servo.