ASML says chip makers face a two year shortage of key machinery

Semiconductor makers face a two-year shortage of critical equipment because Dutch chip machinery maker ASML is unable to meet demand fast enough, the company’s chief executive Peter Wennink has told the Financial Times.

ASML, based in Veldhoven, is a key player in the global chip industry, producing machines which Intel, Samsung and TSMC all use to make advanced semiconductors. The company also has a monopoly in the field of EUV, or extreme ultra violet, based lithography machines.

‘Next year and the year after there will be shortages,’ Wennink told the paper. ‘We’re going to ship more machines this year than last year and . . . more machines next year than this year. But it will not be enough if we look at the demand curve. We really need to step up our capacity significantly more than 50%. That will take time.’

The FT said Wennink’s comments come as the semiconductor industry is speeding up investment in new production to meet a global shortage of chips, and that analysts expect the market to double to $1 tn by 2030.