Exclusive-Intel, AMD notify customers in China of lengthy waits for CPUs
BEIJING, Feb 6 (Reuters) – Intel (INTC) and AMD (AMD) are informing Chinese customers about supply shortages for server central processing units (CPUs), while Intel warned of delivery times of up to six months, people with knowledge of the delays said.
Although prices vary by customer contract, supply constraints have generally increased prices for Intel’s server products in China by more than 10%, according to one of the sources.
Investments are booming artificial intelligence Infrastructure has created a mad rush for not only AI-specific chips but also other parts of the supply chain; most notably in memory chips, whose prices continue to rise.
These latest notifications from sources to Chinese customers in recent weeks show that the CPU shortage is also intensifying. This could raise challenges for AI companies as well as many other manufacturers.
ACCUMULATION OF UNFULFILLED ORDERS
In China, which accounts for more than 20% of Intel’s total revenue, fourth- and fifth-generation Xeon CPUs are in particularly short supply, with Intel rationing its deployments, two of the sources said.
They added that Intel has a significant backlog of unfulfilled orders for these models, and delivery times are stretching up to six months.
One of the sources and a third source said AMD has also notified customers about supply constraints. The third source said delivery times for some AMD products have been extended to eight to 10 weeks.
The extent of supply constraints in China is first reported by Reuters.
Intel, which cited CPU supply constraints in its January earnings call, told Reuters that the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence has led to strong demand for “traditional computing.”
The company “expects inventory to be at its lowest level in Q1, but we are addressing it aggressively and expect supply recovery from Q2 through 2026,” the statement said.
AMD reiterated its statement that it was increasing its supply capabilities to cope with strong demand in its earnings.
“We remain confident in our ability to meet customer demand globally, building on our strong supplier agreements and supply chain, including our partnership with TSMC,” he told Reuters in a statement.
DOMINANT MARKET SHARE FOR CPUS
Together, the two companies dominate the global server CPU market. According to a UBS report published in January, Intel’s market share fell from 90% in 2019 to around 60% in 2025, while AMD’s share increased from around 5% in 2019 to over 20% last year.
