Heavy equipment and large machinery companies are facing significant difficulties due to a shortage of semiconductor components, new electrical and electronic development personnel, and disruptions in the procurement of steel materials caused by typhoon damage to POSCO.

According to recent reports from the industrial heavy equipment and large machinery industries, the minimum product delivery time is now more than a year due to difficulties in procuring electronic components such as semiconductors.

In the case of large equipment such as heavy equipment and industrial machine tools, the shortage of semiconductors is not properly addressed because they are perceived as mechanical equipment, making the semiconductor supply and demand situation even more serious.

Recently, as large machines such as lasers and factory machinery, along with heavy equipment, are becoming smarter, the use of semiconductors for IIoT, such as sensors and communication chips, as well as semiconductors for existing equipment control, is increasing. However, it has been revealed that the supply of semiconductors for these industrial equipment is quite difficult, causing problems in product manufacturing.

In particular, the semiconductor shortage situation is being focused on high-profile industries such as automobiles, making it even more difficult to secure semiconductors for the production of industrial goods such as heavy equipment.

Semiconductor foundry orders are being concentrated in automotive and other sectors, while production of industrial products is gradually decreasing. It's a rumor.

Accordingly, it has been reported that large corporations that manufacture heavy equipment and large machine tools, which are the final producers, are directly purchasing semiconductor components and supplying them to component manufacturers.

Meanwhile, heavy equipment and large machinery companies are also facing a serious shortage of personnel in the new electrical and electronic development field.

There is a perception that heavy equipment and large machinery are difficult to work with, and recently, the semiconductor and electronics industries have been experiencing a serious shortage of developers, making it even more difficult for heavy equipment and large machinery companies to hire developers.

It is also reported that electrical and electronic developers have no awareness of the heavy equipment and large machinery industry, to the point that they do not even know that heavy equipment and large machinery companies are hiring electrical and electronic developers.

Accordingly, some large corporations are directly engaging in talent development through collaboration with universities, including through contract departments.

In particular, defense companies are known to be facing great difficulties due to the difficulty in securing specialized development personnel needed to develop the latest cutting-edge weapons.

Meanwhile, to make matters worse, the typhoon caused a disruption in POSCO's steel product supply, putting heavy equipment and large machinery companies on high alert for steel product supply.

Heavy equipment companies use a lot of steel products, but if the supply of steel products becomes difficult, production of the products themselves becomes impossible.

The company is currently producing products using steel products it has in stock, but the inventory level is known to be less than three months, and if the steel product supply problem is not resolved quickly, it could lead to a production halt, an official said.

The industry estimates that it will take at least six months for the supply of products required for heavy equipment and large machine tools, such as POSCO's stainless steel, to normalize, and is therefore seeking to secure products from Hyundai Steel, Japan, and China in addition to POSCO. />
Meanwhile, with the possibility of a strike at Hyundai Steel becoming more apparent, the industry is concerned that if things go wrong, it could face a shortage of steel products.

An official from the heavy equipment and large machinery industry said, “In order to ensure a smooth supply of large heavy equipment and large machine tools for domestic construction and industrial use, three issues must be resolved quickly: the semiconductor supply and demand problem, the shortage of electrical and electronic development personnel, and the steel supply and demand problem.”