This is an excellent article that summarizes the semiconductor supply chain disruptions that we experienced over the last few years, due to a perfect storm of circumstances ranging from the COVID-19 pandemic, massive increases in demand of electronics from work from home employees, a fire at a Renesas semiconductor factory in Japan and a drought in Taiwan that impacted semiconductor fabs throughput.
Celadon used these supply chain disruptions as an opportunity to update older circuit designs and standardize a newer, lower cost and more efficient microcontrollers. We were also able to partner with a large Korean semiconductor manufacturer to help guarantee component availability in a reasonable lead-time. A summary of our custom tooling and PCB development services can be found here: https://celadon.com/custom-tooling-pcb-development/
It is encouraging to see that while there are some global challenges, the outlook for 2024 is positive. We are seeing lead-times return closer to pre-COVID levels as fab capacity is increasing and demand is normalizing.