German news TV channel website published on February 18 titled "US cold wave intensifies chip shortage" report said, the United States Arctic cold current is now hitting the semiconductor industry sensitive points. In Texas, the state hardest hit by the cold snap, the local energy department had to ask all the chipmakers in Austin to suspend production to free up enough power for the health department. The full text is edited as follows:

NXP Semiconductors of the Netherlands, one of the carmakers' biggest suppliers, closed two of its Austin plants. South Korea's Samsung, the world's second-biggest semiconductor maker, and Germany's Infineon, another firm, have also suspended production.

Production curbs could not have come at a worse time: The global semiconductor market is tight, and demand for chips for the entertainment and automotive industries surged late last year. The lockdown and the home-based office have pushed laptop sales to their highest level in a decade, and demand for household appliances from televisions to air purifiers has also increased significantly. Hoarding chips became popular. In particular, because of American sanctions, companies have begun to hoard in ways that were not so widespread before. Many carmakers have complained of supply problems.

Typically, Texas plants operate seven days a week. While the U.S. produces far fewer semiconductors than the big factories in Taiwan and South Korea, the importance of U.S. factories is growing as Asia's supply of products becomes increasingly difficult to meet world demand. NXP has warned its customers of a "supply crunch". Samsung said it had no timetable for restarting production. The Financial Times writes that even a short-term disruption of such highly complex production can leave companies with huge losses.

The newspaper quoted an expert from the US innovation strategy consultancy as saying the closures "will undoubtedly have an impact on the already severe chip shortage". Large carmakers such as Volkswagen, Ford and Toyota have cut production because of component shortages. Daimler also said it was experiencing supply shortages, saying in its annual results release that it would take a hit in the first few months of 2021 in particular. But the company said it now believes the lost production will be made up by the end of the year.

Experts at the British firm Egenhuamai estimate that 1m vehicles will be delayed in the first quarter, potentially costing the industry $61 billion in lost sales. For the larger electronics industry, the impact of the chip shortage will be even more significant. Semiconductors are needed for everything from mobile phones to game consoles. The shortage of chips is expected to increase the price of electronic products.

Matt Brandt, president of the American Automotive Policy Council, which defends Ford, GM and Strantis, explains that supply difficulties will be "an issue in the first half of the year."

But governments are also looking for a different solution. Biden wants U.S. industry to become less dependent on semiconductor manufacturers from other countries. This is also a goal already announced by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron, who agreed in December 2020 to accelerate the construction of a European chip industry.