The shortage of IC hits the power charger manufacturer, lead-time will be delayed to 45-60 days

1. The fast charge chip is seriously out of stock
Some times ago, there was a shortage of chips in the fast charging field. The shortage of fast charging chips is closely related to the rapid growth of the USB PD fast charging market driven by the launch of the iPhone 12. Insufficient production capacity caused by the surge in orders from upstream wafer manufacturers, as well as the insufficient stocking of the original fast-charging chip manufacturers, have also become the main reasons for the shortage of goods. It is understood that the 20W PD fast charging chip has the greatest impact in this chip shortage crisis. Because for the new iPhone 12, full-speed charging can only be achieved with a PD fast charging charger of 20W and above, and in this process, the USB PD fast charging protocol chip plays a decisive role. With the implementation of the iPhone 12’s unequipped charger strategy and the successive launch of new phones, the market demand for USB PD fast charging has been greatly released, and the gap in the fast charging accessories market has become larger and larger. Third-party 20W fast charging single products monthly sales of 100,000 units are very common.

2. Factory delivery is generally delayed
According to industry analysts, the tight upstream 8-inch wafer foundry capacity is expected to ease in mid-2021. At the same time, the editor also confirmed this statement from the original manufacturer of the fast charging chip. The current scheduled fast charging chip delivery period is generally more than three months. On the one hand, there is continuous strong market demand, on the other hand, chip production capacity and supply are insufficient. As a fast charging source factory, shipment pressure is great, especially when the new year is approaching, brand customers have more demand for stocking . At present, many factories have successively issued notices to remind them of the delay of orders. A number of fast-charging source factories have conducted surveys, and they have stated that the fast-charging source products have different degrees of delay. Insufficient chip supply makes many fast charging source factories have to arrange order scheduling in advance and control the number of orders; for 20W PD fast charging chargers, it is difficult for clever women to cook without rice, and some factories even cannot buy fast charging chips. The project could not progress normally, so I could only stare at the great market.

3. The impact of delayed delivery of finished products on the market
Research data from the charging head network shows that there are 80 charger foundries, 24 fast charging source chip manufacturers, 37 protocol chip manufacturers, and hundreds of companies have formed a complete USB PD fast charging supply chain. The postponement of finished products in fast charging factories and the inability to guarantee production capacity have had a significant impact on downstream brands. Some popular brands of 20W PD fast charging products have been removed from the shelves due to insufficient capacity. As far as domestic e-commerce is concerned, due to the large amount of manpower, material and financial resources invested in the initial market promotion of 20W PD fast charging, product through train, online celebrity delivery, KOL self-media evaluation, etc. are all a lot of expenses expenditure. These expenses in advance need to be shared equally through the later product sales profits. If there is a shortage of production capacity and the supply of products is cut off, it will mean an exit, and the previous efforts will be in vain. For cross-border e-commerce, product shipments are delayed, coupled with the cycle of logistics and transportation, the overall cycle of fast charging products from placing an order to entering overseas warehouses has also been stretched to 2-3 months, no one can predict 3 months What is the future of the market? There are too many uncontrollable factors, and the risk of stocking also increases. For brand owners who are new to the industry or are ready to enter the industry, not only need to understand product operations, but in the complex and volatile situation of the industry, finding a high-quality supply chain and obtaining a stable source of goods is an extremely critical step.