Automotive semiconductor shortages to ease in 2022: voestalpine

The automotive industry continues to suffer from semiconductor supply chain difficulties, with supply unlikely to ease before the middle of the next business year, says vostalpine chief executive Herbert Eibensteiner.

“However, it is important to note in this regard that the decrease in automotive production does not stem from a weakness in demand,” Eibensteiner told Kallanish during an online conference on Wednesday.

According to him, it is to expected that due to chip supply problems some areas will see a time lag in order call-ups for voestalpine’s products. “Our North American and Asian facilities were affected much less by the lack of semiconductors than the European ones,” Eibensteiner added.

Demand from the construction, mechanical engineering and consumer goods industries for voestalpine group’s products remains high. The company expects the railways segment to continue delivering good performance despite the usual seasonal weakening.

The energy sector has rebounded substantially of late, and this trend should continue throughout the second half of the business year 2021/22, the enterprise claims. Aerospace, too, is showing signs of a recovery.

Voestalpine also highlighted its efforts for future research into green hydrogen, in projects such as H2FUTURE at the site in Linz, and SuSteel in Leoben-Donawitz. The enterprise is also developing its “greentec steel” programme to decarbonise steel production from coal-based blast furnace production to EAFs.

Svetoslav Abrossimov Bulgaria