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1 1 (December 13, 2021)

handle is hein.crs/goveezj0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Inrir g the leis liedbt I 11 0 December 13, 2021 Semiconductor Shortage Constrains Vehicle Production A shortage of semiconductors has slowed auto production and forced temporary closures of numerous assembly plants around the world. According to data from consulting firm AutoForecast Solutions, North America lost production of 2.3 million vehicles in 2021 due to plant shutdowns. The effects of the semiconductor shortage on automotive supply chains have drawn attention in Congress, at a time when Members are considering a variety of proposals to support domestic semiconductor production. Semiconductor Use in Vehicles Recent trends in vehicle design, including vehicle connectivity, electrification, and a growing array of autonomous features, have increased the number and cost of semiconductor components used in the average passenger car, sport utility vehicle, or pickup truck. As shown in the top of Figure 1, recent estimates by Goldman Sachs, an investment bank, show today's vehicles employ about 40% more semiconductor devices than those made prior to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019. The increasing shift toward electric vehicles (EVs) and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) is also increasing the cost of semiconductor components used in vehicles. The bottom of Figure 1 illustrates the additional electronics costs associated with an EV having ADAS features like the Tesla Model 3, which incorporates 3.6 times as much semiconductor value as the average internal combustion vehicle in 2017, according to estimates by Kearney consulting group. Figure I. Use of Semiconductors in Light Vehicles Number of Automotive Semiconductor Units per Vehicle 298 212 7 134 2005 2010 2015 2019 2021 Value of Semiconductor Parts in Vehicle (USD) $414 $581 $468 Source: CRS, adapted from Goldman Sachs Investment Research (top) and Kearney analysis (bottom). Note: Light vehicles include cars, sport utility vehicles, vans, and pickup trucks. Most semiconductors used in personal vehicles are of the type known as discrete/analog/optoelectronic (DAO) devices, which are typically used in sensors and which can receive and transmit information. The supply shortages that have affected vehicle manufacturers, however, have largely involved a different sort of semiconductor, logic devices called microprocessors. These chips serve as the brains of a system calculating and processing information. In motor vehicles, microprocessors are used for such tasks as gathering information about speed and brake cylinder pressure to manage antilock brake systems. Microprocessors are usually embedded within larger assemblies known as electronic control units, which are central to the functionality of power trains (four-wheel drive, engine, transmission, fuel pump), chassis and safety (antilock braking, airbag, suspension, backup cameras), body and convenience (ventilation, lighting, automatic seats), infotainment (audio and video systems, connectivity), and ADAS applications such as lane departure warnings. Most microprocessors used for automotive applications are manufactured using older chip designs. For several decades, semiconductor performance has steadily improved as engineers have shrunk the size of core electronic features, characterized in the industry by the term process node (measured in metric length, nanometers or nm). Mature technology, also referred to as legacy chips, is generally characterized as having process nodes above 10nm, with bigger numbers indicating older technology (10-180nm+), while leading-edge technology is often regarded as being below 10nm. These legacy chip designs are reliable, effective, and inexpensive. However, automotive chips must meet higher quality standards, and they provide lower margins for chip manufacturers than the leading-edge chips that are critical for many advanced and emerging applications. Hence, chip manufacturers are often hesitant to invest in mature technology, such as by building new facilities to fabricate chips for automotive uses, which accounted for 10% of semiconductor sales in 2019, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association. Supply-Chain Vulnerabilities As chip performance has improved with miniaturization, the cost and complexity of the manufacturing process have substantially increased. This trend has driven many chip manufacturers that had previously both designed and produced their own chips (also known as integrated device manufacturers, or IDMs) to outsource the production of their designs to contract manufacturers (often referred to as foundries). Over time, the foundry market has become dominated by a few large companies located primarily in Taiwan and South Korea. https://crsreports.congress.go

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