Global semiconductor sales increased 29.7% year over year in August to $47.2 billion, and were up 3.3% from July, reported the Semiconductor Industry Association Monday. “Chip shipments have reached record totals in recent months as the industry ramps up production to address continuing high demand,” said CEO John Neuffer. Year-over-year sales increased 33.5% in Europe, and were up 30.8% in China, 30.6% in the Americas, 28.2% in Asia Pacific and 23.8% in Japan.

The Commerce Department asks chip companies to “voluntarily share information” about any new or ongoing COVID-19-related shutdowns or disruptions in the supply chain as part of an “early alert system” to better manage semiconductor bottlenecks and breakdowns, said the agency Monday. “The information gathered will be used to assess potential disruptions, enhance engagement with foreign governments as appropriate, and work to safely reopen these critical microelectronics and semiconductor facilities.” Early alerts will generate information the interagency Supply Chain Disruption Task Force “can consider in proactively minimizing real-time semiconductor supply chain disruptions” linked to the pandemic, it said. The White House previewed the early alert system last week (see 2109260002).

The U.S. and EU should maintain “close coordination” and an “exchange of information” on semiconductor policy and strategy to bolster resilience of the semiconductor supply chains in both regions, blogged Jennifer Meng, Semiconductor Industry Association global policy manager, and Meghan Biery, the association’s director-global technology and security policy. “While geographic specialization has served the global semiconductor industry and its consumers well,” they said Tuesday, “it has also created potential vulnerabilities in the global value chain.” Governments in both regions are trying to introduce and implement policies to encourage investment in “high-risk gaps in the supply chains and to establish a more geographically diverse supplier base,” they said. The U.S. and EU should “jointly analyze the combined strengths and weaknesses” of those policies to ensure “each region’s respective incentive programs are open to the most globally innovative companies,” they said. Promoting information sharing and transparency about each region’s incentive programs can help build supply chain resilience, they said. The inaugural meeting of the U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council convened in Pittsburgh beginning Wednesday with the goal of expanding and deepening trade and transatlantic investment ties, they said. Chips should top the U.S-EU trade partnership "agenda" in Pittsburgh, blogged Al Thompson, Intel vice president-U.S. government relations, and Fernando Loureiro, Intel senior director-government director, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Expanding "advanced semiconductor capabilities" will offer Europe and the U.S. "their best chance to reduce dependency on imports from Asia and elsewhere and re-establish themselves as major producers of computer chips," they said Tuesday. The EU and the U.S. "used to be global leaders in the semiconductor industry," they said. "With political and industry forces aligning to reinstate that leadership, we look forward to seeing the progress made in Pittsburgh this week and beyond."

Apple and Intel captured the top two slots in Q2 revenue share for tablet apps processors, while Apple and MediaTek were unit share leaders, reported Strategy Analytics Tuesday. “Robust” average selling prices spurred 17% growth to $737 million, despite an 8% unit decline, the first such decrease in five quarters, attributable to tough comparisons with Q2 a year earlier, said SA. But unit shipments were 23% higher than in 2019's pre-pandemic Q2, it said.

Novatek Microelectronics will add DTS Play-Fi support to its line of SoCs targeting the TV market, said DTS parent Xperi Tuesday. DTS Play-Fi adds wireless audio features to TVs, including whole-home TV audio streaming, multiroom music playback from top music services, app-based headphone streaming and immersive surround, said Xperi. DTS Play-Fi works over industry-standard Wi-Fi, so no additional hardware is required in the product’s design, “and manufacturers can add advanced wireless capabilities across a wide range of price points within their product portfolio,” it said.

The U.S. semiconductor industry maintained global leadership, with 47% revenue share, and “kept steady” its high R&D investment at $44 billion spent through 2020, reported the Semiconductor Industry Association Monday. But the industry “and its position as a global innovation leader face myriad challenges,” it said. “The industry continues to grapple with a widespread global semiconductor shortage brought on by unpredictable and increased demand resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic,” said SIA. It suffers from “decreasing share of global front-end fab capacity fueled by incentives and subsidies provided by foreign governments that far outstrip similar incentives in the U.S.,” it said. “America’s economy, national security, tech leadership, and response to COVID-19 are built on semiconductors,” said SIA CEO John Neuffer. “To remain competitive on the global economic stage” and promote more R&D and production “on U.S. shores,” Congress and the White House should “act swiftly” to fund the semiconductor provisions in the Chips Act, he said. The Senate has passed legislation that provides $52 billion in funding, and the House needs to “follow suit,” said SIA.

The Commerce and State departments will jointly oversee an “early alert system” to better manage potential semiconductor supply chain disruptions, said the White House Thursday. The alert system, announced after the Biden administration summoned semiconductor industry leaders to discuss the global chip shortage, will allow the government to better anticipate and detect supply chain issues and increase engagement with foreign governments and industry, the White House said. It emphasized it’s still seeking “longer term solutions” to the chips crisis. Comments are due Nov. 8 at the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security to help the secretaries of Commerce and Homeland Security prepare a chip shortage report to the White House by the one-year deadline of President Joe Biden’s Feb. 24 executive order on America's supply chains, the agency announced Friday (see 2109230038).

It remains to be seen whether the “supply and demand imbalance” in semiconductors will dampen “consumers’ intent to purchase” new vehicles, SiriusXM Chief Financial Officer Sean Sullivan told a virtual Goldman Sachs conference Wednesday. The chipset supply issue is “very fluid in terms of how that will impact new car sales,” he said. Automotive OEMs expect shortages “may persist into 2022,” he said.

Microsoft’s new Surface devices, based on 11th-generation Intel Core processors, are the first consumer laptop-to-tablet PCs based on Intel’s Evo platform, said the chipmaker. Two models bring Thunderbolt 4 universal cable connectivity to the Surface line for the first time, it said. Microsoft launched four Surface products Wednesday that will be preloaded with Windows 11 when they ship next month, it said. Microsoft called the new 5G Surface Duo 2 ($1,499, Oct. 21) “more than a phone.” The hinged device opens to an 8.1-inch AMOLED display from separate 5.6-inch panels that can be used independently for multitasking, it said. The Duo 2 runs Microsoft 365 software and Android apps optimized for the device. It has a triple-lens camera and includes Xbox gaming. The Surface Laptop Studio ($1,599, Oct. 5), with Wi-Fi 6 and a pair of Thunderbolt 4 ports, has a 14.4-inch PixelSense Flow touch display with up to 120 Hz refresh rate, Dolby Vision and support for Surface Slim Pen 2, said the company. Microsoft pitched the 13-inch Surface Pro 8 ($1,099, Oct. 5) as a computer with the power of a laptop and the flexibility of a tablet. It has a kickstand and detachable keyboard. Features include Dolby Vision, an integrated 5-megapixel front-facing camera, 10-megapixel rear-facing one, and a pair of USB-C with Thunderbolt 4 ports. The Surface Go 3 ($399, Oct. 5) is billed as Microsoft’s most portable Surface 2-in-1 PC. It has a 10.5-inch touch screen, 11-hour battery, fast charging, and front-and rear 1080p cameras with dual mics. It has a single USB-C port.

North American semiconductor equipment makers had $3.65 billion in billings globally in August, based on a three-month average, down 5.4% from July but 37.6% higher than August 2020, reported Semi Monday. The softening in August billings was expected, said Semi CEO Ajit Manocha: “Billings continue to reflect strong demand for semiconductor equipment and solid year-over-year growth.”