Global Chip Market Grows 5% As Russia-Ukraine War Threatens Global Supply

Amid the global chip shortage that is going to worsen with the Russia-Ukraine war, a new report has shown that the global smartphone AP (Application Processor)/SoC (System on Chip) chipset shipments grew 5 percent year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2021. 5G smartphone SoC shipments were almost half of the total SoC shipments, according to Counterpoint Research. MediaTek led the smartphone SoC market with a share of 33 per cent in Q4.

“MediaTek’s smartphone SoC volumes declined due to the high shipments in the first half and inventory corrections from Chinese smartphone OEMs. Many customers had built chipset inventories to manage uncertainties in the supply situation,” informed research director Dale Gai.

Qualcomm recorded a very strong quarter, growing 18 percent (on-quarter) and 33 percent (on-year) despite component shortages and foundry capacity not being able to keep up with demand.

“Qualcomm was able to prioritise high-end Snapdragon sales, which come with higher profitability and less impact from shortages than mid-end and low-end mobile handsets,” said senior analyst Parv Sharma.