CPU Alert! Intel and AMD Both Issue Warnings: Delivery Times May Extend Up to Six Months

While all sectors are focused on the battle for storage chips, the CPU, the heart of servers, is also sounding a red alert…

In January, Intel warned about tight CPU supply during its quarterly earnings call. The company stated in a release that the rapid proliferation of artificial intelligence has led to a surge in demand for traditional computing. “We expect inventory to reach its lowest point in the first quarter, but we are actively responding, and supply is expected to gradually improve from the second quarter through 2026.”

According to industry insiders this week, Intel and AMD have recently notified Chinese customers that server CPU supplies are facing shortages. Intel even warned that delivery times could be as long as six months.

One informed source said that supply restrictions have caused the prices of Intel server products in China to generally increase by over 10%, although specific prices vary depending on customer contracts.

Data shows that global server shipments in 2024 are expected to be around 16 million units, with China, one of the world’s largest server manufacturing and consumption markets, accounting for over 25% of the total. Industry estimates suggest that China’s market share in shipments will remain at a similar level in 2025.

Recently, the surge in investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure has not only triggered frantic purchases of dedicated AI chips but also affected other parts of the supply chain—most severely, storage chip shortages, with prices continuing to soar. Industry insiders say that recent notifications from Intel and AMD to Chinese customers indicate that CPU shortages are also worsening, which could pose multiple challenges for AI companies and many other manufacturers.

Order Backlog

According to the aforementioned insiders, supply of the fourth and fifth generation Xeon CPUs in the Chinese market is particularly tight, with Intel implementing rationed deliveries. The Chinese market accounts for over 20% of Intel’s total revenue.

They added that there are large backlogs for these models, with delivery times extending up to six months.

Another source revealed that AMD has also informed customers of supply restrictions. Delivery times for some AMD products have been extended to 8 to 10 weeks.

Currently, these two companies are jointly dominating the global server CPU market, although their market share gap is narrowing. UBS’s January report shows that Intel’s market share has fallen from over 90% in 2019 to about 60% in 2025, while AMD’s share has risen from around 5% in 2019 to over 20% last year.

In the Chinese market, the main customers of both companies include major server manufacturers and cloud service providers such as Alibaba and Tencent.

Why is CPU supply so tight?

Currently, the shortage of CPUs stems from multiple factors.

Intel has struggled with manufacturing yield challenges, making it difficult to expand capacity; AMD, on the other hand, outsources production to TSMC, the world’s top foundry, which is currently prioritizing AI chip manufacturing, limiting CPU capacity.

Additionally, the shortage of storage chips, a key component of servers, has worsened the situation. According to sources, when memory prices in the Chinese market began rising late last year, customers accelerated CPU procurement to lock in lower memory prices.

The demand for AI intelligent systems—complex, multi-step systems capable of performing beyond simple chatbots—has also surged, further tightening supply. The processing power required for these advanced applications far exceeds traditional workloads.

(Source: Caixin)