Automakers ask US government for help with the semiconductor shortage The industry is looking to get its own dedicated chip allocation in to avoid supply issues in the future. Listen - 01:33 New cars require a lot of processing power, and that's been a problem during the global semiconductor shortage. Kyle Hyatt/Roadshow In case you hadn't heard, there's a global silicon chip shortage. In addition to causing problems for people trying to build gaming computers, it's giving serious trouble to automakers worldwide. It's gotten bad enough that, according to a report published Tuesday by Automotive News, a coalition of automakers have asked the US government for help.