Now, Pat Gelsinger, Intel's CEO, is repeatedly confirming that the shortages are here to stay. He expects that the shortages will remain until 2023.

Gelsinger expects that currently, we are living through the worst of it. Every quarter next year, Intel will get incrementally better.

Shortages are not an issue that is exclusive to the chip industry. Almost all segments are affected.

On a separate note, Amazon expects that online business will increase by 10 percent in the holiday quarter, putting even more pressure on an overloaded supply chain. The chip industry is not alone with shortages. The automotive industry is hugely suffering from supply constraints.

Some of our contacts within the fishing industry have seen an incredible demand spike due to the pandemic and free time, resulting in significant backorder and shipping delays. It is hard to get a slot on a ship for reasonable money.

Automotive

MarkLines Automotive Information Platform informed us earlier this month that sales of passenger cars in September in Germany declined 25.7 percent to 197 thousand over the previous year. It is not an isolated phenomenon as most EU countries saw a drop in sales between 10 and 35 percent. Ironically people do have the month, but they cannot get the cars. Of course, this is increasing pricing in the second-hand market.

The situation is not better in Austria, where people wait for their Skoda cars for several months, without precise delivery dates. The other car vendors are in a similar situation.