Potential price hikes incoming on March 4, 2021, 5:17 TL;DR: Just when you thought the global semiconductor shortage couldn't get any worse, we're now hearing that the winter storm in Texas last month has left chip makers in the area dealing with the consequences of temporarily shutting down their fabs. It will take several weeks before production can restart, exacerbating the ongoing industry problems and possibly leading to more price hikes for some products. As reported by Reuters, Samsung, NXP Semiconductors, and Infineon Technologies were all ordered to close their factories in Austin, Texas, last month so power could be prioritized for people's homes, a result of the winter storm that killed at least 21 people.