The global shortage of semiconductors will cut worldwide auto production by as many as 7.1 million vehicles this year, and pandemic-related supply disruptions will hobble the industry well into next year, IHS Markit said. The lack of chips won’t stabilize until the second quarter of next year, with recovery coming in the second half, IHS said in a report Thursday. The grim outlook is further proof that the chip crisis is far from over . And the research firm’s forecast doesn’t include the latest cuts from Toyota Motor Corp. , which plans to briefly pause output at 14 plants next month and slash production 40%. “The situation is still fraught with challenges,” IHS analysts Mark Fulthorpe and Phil Amsrud wrote in their report. “We are also seeing additional volatility due to Covid-19 lockdown measures in Malaysia where many back-end chip packaging and testing operations are performed.” Low vaccination rates […]