a16z charts: US electrical equipment capacity down 9% since 2019 as prices jump 69%
a16z · x · 2026-10-24
a16z's Charts of the Week argues power is one of the AI buildout's biggest bottlenecks — yet US electrical equipment manufacturing capacity has actually shrunk 9% since 2019, while prices surged 69%, the steepest rise among four categories.
- Capacity change since 2019: comms equipment +110%, semiconductors +77%, computers +16%, electrical equipment -9%
- The buildout is largely "doing more with the same": utilization rates haven't scaled with capacity and production
- Also in the piece: Netflix growth has slowed to 12% (lowest since '21-'22), and BCG data shows US weekly media consumption topping out at 26 hours, with short-form video squeezing long-form streaming
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