Due to a variety of factors including a drought in Taiwan, production halts due to COVID-19, and increased demand for home office electronics, the world is facing a global shortage of semiconductor chips used to manufacture high-tech devices like smartphones and automobiles. As a result, Ford has experienced downtime on numerous production lines and announced the shutdowns will impact production of the company’s Transit-class vehicles. Other auto manufacturers like GM, BMW, and Tesla are experiencing similar delays in production.

How long the impact of the microchip shortage on transit vehicle manufacturing and delivery will last is unknown. Many industry experts fear the shortage could last through 2022 and even extend into 2023. NDOT will continue to accept vehicle applications and submit purchase orders to our vendors but cannot guarantee or predict delivery dates.