Technology giant Intel has said it wants to spend €80bn on expanding its production facilities in Europe, according to Euractiv.
The report earlier this week said that the company wants to concentrate on producing next-generation microchips a third smaller than those made by Asian manufacturers. Euractiv said the company had eight production plants in the pipeline, although did not specify where in Europe these plants would be.
It may be computer technology, but the reasoning behind such a move is not rocket science. As Expert Investor has reported before, the dearth of microchips is causing a huge slowdown in high-end industries around the world.
A report in October from Handelsblatt spoke of ‘serious bottlenecks’ in the production of new cars, one of the country’s largest export goods.
Not much has changed in the time since, with a BBC report yesterday quoting the US Department of Commerce saying that, “A survey of more than 150 firms found supplies had fallen from an average of 40 days’ worth in 2019 to just five days in late 2021.”
Meanwhile, Sky News has also reported that car production in the UK has reached its lowest point in 65 years, with fewer than 900,000 vehicles being produced in 2021.
That report quoted the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, which said that the chip shortage, along with a surge of energy costs, were challenges to the industry. The fall in production between 2020 and 2021, said the society, was 6.7%. Compared with the pre-pandemic times, it was 34%.
