Scarce Chips Are the Tip of Big Auto’s Disruption: Liam Denning

Jacques Nasser, the hard-charging former chief executive of Ford Motor Co., is reputed to have once summed up his industry thusly: “We make cars, and everyone else makes money.” A tad blunt, but Nasser’s grim humor remains essential context for auto manufacturers facing another chip shortage (plus an aluminum disruption) amid an ongoing trade war.

The tension building between what governments, customers and shareholders want from this industry in the 21st century is reaching seismic proportions. If higher prices are to be avoided, the industry’s workforce may become a relief valve.

Nexperia Holding BV is a Chinese-owned Dutch chip-maker at the center of a ...