The United States is facing a chronic shortage of semiconductor chips and a long-term solution is desperately needed to avoid economic and national security risks to the nation, according to a new report by the U.S Department of Commerce. A government survey of more than 150 companies that produce and buy chips—aimed at providing insight into the complex and global semiconductor supply chain—found that urgent action needs to be taken to resolve the crisis as soon as possible as demand for chips could exceed supply for the next six months. The White House in September asked both foreign and domestic chip makers to submit supply chain information, including inventory data, demand, and delivery dynamics, by Nov. 8 in an effort to boost transparency and help understand where bottlenecks may exist in the semiconductor chip industry. Specifically, the survey found that the median inventory held by chip consumers, which includes automakers or medical device manufacturers, has fallen from 40 days …