January 5th is when CES 2022 is set to kick off and we’ve already seen reports of several big brands cancelling their attendance, but according to the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) who are the organisers behind CES, it’s not because of Covid, but rather due to the chip shortage. The fact that most countries have imposed travel restrictions and even gone into fairly strict lockdowns seems to have eluded the CTA as its CEO claims exhibitors aren’t overly concerned about the virus.
Instead, the reasoning by the CTA CEO goes along the lines of the chip shortage causing issues with prototypes and product samples, so the companies that were planning to attend CES won’t have any products to showcase. This seems like some very strange logic, since from what we’ve seen so far, prototypes and product samples don’t seem to be a major concern. That said, the CTA is correct that logistics are going to be a nightmare this year, as shipping delays are not uncommon and are likely to cause bigger problems for the exhibitors this year than anything else. TPU is still expecting to be on location in Las Vegas for next year’s show, unless something changes drastically in the next week and half.