[News] Intel Reportedly Warns China of CPU Shortages: Prices Up 10%+, Delivery Times Up to 6 Months

Memory is not the only asset in short supply. Reuters reports that both Intel and AMD have warned Chinese customers of tightening server CPU supplies, with the crunch pushing average prices for Intel’s server processors in China up by more than 10%, though increases vary by contract.

According to Reuters, Team Blue is grappling with a sizable backlog for these CPU models, with delivery lead times stretching up to six months—particularly for its fourth- and fifth-generation Xeon processors, which are in especially tight supply.

Notably, China is a key market for Intel, accounting for over 20% of its total revenue, Reuters reports. In China, customers of Intel and AMD include top-tier server makers and major cloud players such as Alibaba and Tencent, the report adds.

On the other hand, AMD is facing similar constraints, as a source cited by Reuters said that lead times for certain AMD products have lengthened to around eight to ten weeks.

The Forces Behind CPU Shortages

The CPU crunch is being driven by a convergence of factors. Reuters notes that Intel, which flagged supply constraints in its January earnings call, says the AI boom is pushing strong demand for its so-called “traditional compute” workloads. In short, the demand is being amplified by the rapid uptake of agentic AI systems—which require far greater CPU processing power than traditional workloads, the report explains.

Foundry bottlenecks add to the strain. As highlighted by Reuters, Intel has struggled to scale output amid persistent manufacturing yield issues, while AMD largely relies on Taiwan’s TSMC, which has prioritized AI chip orders, leaving limited capacity for conventional CPUs.

Memory shortages have added further pressure. The report suggests that as memory prices in China began rising late last year, customers rushed to secure CPUs earlier to lock in lower memory costs.

Meanwhile, several Chinese chipmakers are raising prices and signaling longer delivery times. Calian Press reports that among them, in late January, Cmsemicon hiked prices on products including MCUs and NOR Flash by 15%–50%, citing tight industry supply and rising costs that have stretched delivery cycles and pushed prices sharply higher.

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(Photo credit: Intel’s X)