Don’t Let IPC Shortages Stall Your Production Schedule

We would like to make you aware of significant supply chain developments that are expected to impact the industrial computing market over the next 6-12 months. Don’t Let Industrial PC Shortages Set Your Production Schedule.
Based on information received from multiple industrial computing manufacturers and component suppliers, we anticipate increasing pressure on the availability and pricing of critical hardware components, including processors, memory, and storage devices. These market conditions are expected to affect lead times, product availability, and overall system pricing throughout 2026 and potentially well into 2027.

What Is Driving These Changes?
Several industry trends are converging simultaneously.
• Increased global demand for AI infrastructure and hyperscale data center deployments.
• Memory and storage manufacturers prioritizing production for high-performance server and AI applications.
• Growing competition for semiconductor manufacturing capacity.
• Long-term supply agreements being secured by large enterprise and cloud customers.
• Ongoing component allocation challenges across the semiconductor ecosystem.

As a result, suppliers are reporting reduced availability of many components commonly used in industrial PCs, embedded computers, Panel PCs, edge computing platforms, and machine automation systems.

Areas of Greatest Concern
Processor Availability
Industrial computing manufacturers are reporting increasing lead times for certain Intel processor families, particularly lower-power and embedded-focused platforms commonly used in industrial automation and edge computing applications – in particular the ATOM and Celeron families, and lower-end Core-I products are being “de-emphasized” by Intel.
Industry feedback indicates that suppliers are prioritizing higher-volume server and AI-related products, creating extended procurement cycles for some industrial computing processors.
Memory (RAM)
Memory suppliers continue to report tight market conditions driven by manufacturing capacity being redirected toward high-bandwidth memory products used in AI and data center applications. Customers should expect continued upward pricing pressure on both DDR4 and DDR5 memory throughout the foreseeable future.
Solid State Drives (SSD)
Industrial SSD pricing and availability remain highly volatile. Manufacturers are reporting strong demand from cloud, enterprise, and AI infrastructure deployments, which continues to impact supply available to the industrial market. Further price increases and extended lead times are expected.

What This Means for Customers
Customers purchasing industrial computing hardware should plan for:
• Longer lead times on new system orders.
• Increased variability in delivery schedules.
• More frequent pricing adjustments. (In some cases, pricing will be subject to change after an order is placed, until hardware ships.)
• Reduced availability of certain configurations.
• Potential design or component substitutions to maintain delivery schedules.
Projects that have historically been fulfilled with short lead times may require significantly more planning and earlier purchasing commitments moving forward.
Recommendations
To minimize business impact, MSI TEC recommends:

1. Plan Earlier Than Normal
Review your anticipated requirements for the next 6-12 months and engage with your MSI TEC team as early as possible.
2. Place Orders Early
Customers with known project schedules should consider securing product commitments well in advance of deployment dates.
3. Share Forecasts
Providing forecasts for upcoming projects allows our team and manufacturing partners to better position inventory and production capacity.
4. Standardize Where Possible
Limiting platform variations and approving alternate memory or storage options can improve flexibility and reduce supply risk.
5. Consult MSI TEC During Project Planning
Our engineering and product specialists can help evaluate alternative platforms, lifecycle considerations, and inventory strategies to improve supply chain resilience.

MSI TEC’s Commitment
MSI TEC is actively working with our manufacturing partners to monitor supply conditions, secure available inventory, and help customers navigate these changing market conditions. Our goal remains to provide transparent communication, proactive recommendations, and practical solutions that minimize disruption to your operations and projects. We will continue to share updates as market conditions evolve.
If you have questions regarding existing projects, future requirements, or product availability, please contact your MSI TEC representative.
Thank you for your continued partnership.
Further Reading / References:

https://www.trendforce.com/presscenter/news/20260331-12995.html
https://finance.biggo.com/news/abf9878e-c73b-4c10-9c5a-dd1f77442f32
https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/cpus/intel-confirms-price-hikes-on-select-consumer-and-server-cpus-citing-supply-costs-and-demand-select-xeon-processors-now-over-usd1-000-more-expensive