In the global supply chain is difficult to improve, enterprise cost pressure under the background, the recent consumer electronics chip shortage, showing different degrees of price surge.


A global chip shortage is driving up the prices of items like laptops and printers, and could have the same impact on other popular devices such as smartphones, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.


As the chip industry scramps to meet rising demand and fill supply gaps, the snowball effect of rising prices is affecting suppliers and key raw materials for chip production, the article said. As a result, many of the world's largest chip makers are raising the prices they charge makers of personal computers and other electronics. Industry insiders say the trend is likely to continue.

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A laptop for gamers, made by Asus Computer Inc., listed as Amazon's top-selling product, rose to $950 this month from $900, according to the latest data from price tracking site Keepa. The price of a popular H-P Chromebook rose to $250 from $220 in early June.


HP has raised PC prices by 8% and printer prices by more than 20% in a year, according to Bernstein Research, a marketing firm. Chief Executive Mark Laureys said the price increase was due to a shortage of components and that the company might adjust prices further to reflect higher costs.


Other PC makers have expressed similar sentiments. "We will price our products appropriately in consideration of higher component costs," said Jerry Sweet, chief financial officer of Dell's technology group, on a recent earnings call. An Asustek executive said in May that the company had adjusted its pricing to reflect higher component costs.


While some electronics prices have risen, analysts say the broader impact on consumers is often difficult to gauge, because retailers can decide whether to charge consumers more or absorb some of the cost of the increases themselves.


Chip-industry executives insist they are not taking advantage of the chip shortage to boost profits, and are simply raising prices because companies are paying higher costs. "We're not taking advantage of the current cycle to manipulate pricing, it's just that we have to join in increasing supply, which is making us pay more," said Daniel Roche, CEO of chip maker Adeno Semiconductor. We will have to pass on the increased costs."


"We are facing rising costs," said Chen Fuyang, Broadcom chief executive. 'Customers understand that and are willing to accept higher prices,' he said on a conference call with analysts this month. Broadcom mainly makes wireless chips that go into Apple Inc. 's iPhone and Samsung Electronics Co.' s flagship smartphones.


A combination of factors is driving the surge in demand for chips, creating a supply shortage that is still being disrupted by the COVID-19 outbreak. During the COVID-19 outbreak, people bought laptops to work and study from home, and laptop purchases reached a record high. Rising demand for medical devices and the spread of superfast 5G mobile networks have prompted consumers to buy new smartphones to enjoy the increased speeds.

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According to represent many chip maker of nonprofit organization, the world semiconductor trade statistics data, in April this year the global chip sales of nearly $100 billion, a record, and in front of the new champions league outbreak in January 2020, global chip shipments of about $73 billion, reflecting the chip industry has been trying to increase production to meet demand.


In addition, people were spending more time playing computer games during the COVID-19 outbreak, which led to the emergence of a secondary market for Nvidia graphics cards that changed hands for more than the original retail price.


A report by the Institute of International Finance in June argued that supplier delays, which are driving up the cost of manufactured goods around the world, could persist until 2022, adding to global inflation fears. "What is happening is more serious than anything seen in recent history," the report concluded.