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If you haven’t been following the news this week – and, with how depressing it’s been of late, we wouldn’t blame you – then you may not know that a ship as long as the Empire State building has got stuck in the Suez Canal in Egypt. This is an important trade route from Asia to Europe, and has caused a backlog of boats which threatens to further disrupt an already fragile supply chain.

Sony has been battling with semiconductor shortages caused by the coronavirus pandemic for months now, and while it’s managed to more or less match PlayStation 4’s hardware shipments, demand for PlayStation 5 has far exceeded supply. While semiconductors are generally transported through air – and thus are unlikely to be affected by the scenes unfolding on the Suez Canal – Business Insider reports that the events are almost certain to increase product shipping times.

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There’s a knock-on effect at play here: ships currently stranded will be late to return to ports in Asia to pick up new products, resulting in a backlog of goods that may take months to correct. It’s unclear how directly Sony’s next-gen system will be impacted by all of this, but with stock already short, this additional complication is unlikely to help matters at all.

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[source businessinsider.com]