OAKLAND, Calif., July 12 Reuters A supply chain crisis triggered by the global pandemic deprived makers of PCs and smartphones to cars of computer chips needed to make their products.

All that suddenly changed over three weeks from late May to June, as high inflation, China39;s latest COVID lockdown, and the war in Ukraine dampened consumer spending, especially on PCs and smartphones.

Chip shortages turned into a glut in some sectors, taking Wall Street by surprise. By late June, memory chip firm Micron Technology Inc said it would reduce production. The market reversal caught Micron off guard, admitted Chief Business Officer Sumit Sadana.

As U.S. chip earnings reporting season kicks off later this month, TechInsights39; chip economist Dan Hutcheson warned of more bad news following Micron39;s grim forecast. Micron kind of plowed the ground, with their honesty, he said.

Worries about an industry downturn have slammed chip stocks, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor index tumbling 35 so far in 2022, far more than the SP 50039;s 19 loss.

Hoarding is making it worse. Like nervous shoppers raiding supermarket aisles for toilet paper ahead of a COVID19 lockdown, manufacturers stockpiled computer chips during the pandemic. Before that, just in time manufacturing was the norm for fiscally conservative companies, which ordered parts as close to production time as possible to avoid excess inventory, reduce warehouse capacity and cut upfront spending.

During the pandemic that…