Semiconductors: The gold of 2021, and maybe 2022

Gold made the panners of the California Gold Rush in the 19th century rich. Semiconductors are the equivalent of gold in 2021.

Throughout most of this year, these silicon chips were worth their weight in gold, almost literally, as demand spiked and chipmakers struggled to produce enough of the precision-made silicon pieces to fulfil all their orders.

One only has to look back a few months to see news coverage of all sorts of products that are being hit by this shortage of chips. Samsung Electronics delayed its Galaxy Note smartphone to 2022, and carmakers like Audi and Nissan reported that they were forced to idle some factories as there was just not enough of the silicon to go around.

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