SAN RAMON, Calif. (AP) — As the U.S. economy awakens from its pandemic-induced slumber, a vital cog is in short supply: the computer chips that power our phones and wireless networks, cars and other vehicles, and a vast number of other items we take for granted.
The shortage has already created delays for people who want to buy laptops, the iPhone 12 and the latest video game consoles.
Things are still getting worse, particularly in the auto industry, which has been closing down factories and stockpiling nearly completed vehicles in lots while they await the chips that they need to roll them into showrooms.
