The cushion that the automotive sector has provided chip makers isn’t looking very soft lately. Waning demand in once-hot segments such as electric vehicles is starting to reach into semiconductor supply chains, leading manufacturers and their suppliers to mind their balance sheets and their inventories more closely. The WSJ’s Dan Gallagher writes in a Heard on the Street column that the auto industry has been a haven for chip makers as demand from electronics manufacturers declined. Carmakers burned by production shortages chose to build up inventories of the valuable components. But carmakers can’t stack up inventories forever, and strains are showing up in supply chains. OnSemi, which supplies silicon-carbide chip products used in electric vehicles, says it is seeing order “pushouts” from automotive customers who struck long-term supply agreements. NXP Semiconductors is working with customers to help reduce their inventories “rather than just blindly enforcing” long-term supply agreements.

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  Rivian Automotive says it is no longer required to sell its electric delivery vans exclusively to Amazon and is in talks with other potential customers. (WSJ)
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  Intel is the leading candidate for potentially billions of dollars in government funding for secure facilities producing microchips for U.S. military and intelligence applications. (WSJ)
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  The number of U.S. chip makers taking part in China’s import fair rose this year despite Washington’s restrictions on technology exports. (Nikkei Asia)