According to a report on the website of Hong Kong's Asia Times on March 3, the price of used chipmaking equipment is being pushed up. Prices are up 20 percent from 2020, according to Japanese dealers of used equipment.

For Japanese sellers, business is business, the report said. Japanese sellers are making huge profits and are selling large amounts of inventory that would otherwise sit idle.

That, in turn, could prolong a looming shortage of semiconductors for cars as global chip demand grows, Nikkei Asia magazine reported.

CNBC notes that global automakers are expected to lose billions of dollars in revenue this year because of a shortage of semiconductor chips. Alix Partners, a consulting firm, estimates the shortages will cost the global auto industry $60.6 billion in revenue this year.

Semiconductor chips are crucial to the new cars and are used in areas such as infotainment systems, as well as more basic components such as power steering and brakes, the report said.

The report quoted some experts as saying that the demand for semiconductor chips depends on the type of car and the options in the car, and that a car can contain hundreds of semiconductors. Pricier cars with advanced security and infotainment systems, which require lots of different types of chips, demand semiconductor chips far more than basic cars.

One analyst even suggested that demand for chips could turn into an "armoury" among carmakers.

A source at a major leasing company said: "The price of used machinery and equipment is going up every year. Prices have gone up 20 per cent on average over the past year."

The price of core equipment such as lithography systems has quadrupled, the report said. Lithography is a key step in chip manufacturing. According to a source at Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Leasing, the price has risen tenfold since the immediate end of the financial crisis in 2008.

There is also strong demand for driver integrated circuits for televisions and personal computer monitors and power management chips for connected home appliances.

As a result, a source at Hitachi Financial said, "second-hand machines that can be used immediately cost more than brand-new machines."

"Machines that were basically worthless a few years ago now sell for Y100m ($940,000)," said a source at a second-hand equipment dealer.

"The machinery we bring in is shipped directly to the next factory," said an official at Sumitomo Mitsui Finance Leasing. The machines were gone in a flash."