This three month thing is happening all over the place. It is not the fact that parts are taken EOL but rather that the supply pipeline from wafer starts all the way through to distributor inventory has been sucked dry. There are two factors at play. One, due to the crappy economy, the semiconductor manufacturers have cut back on how many wafer starts they have scheduled for various part numbers. Two, the users of parts, threatened by anticipated shortage of supplies, tend to buy up available parts in the pipeline at greater quantity than what they normally consume.

Michael Karas