Photographer: Andrey Rudakov / Bloomberg
Photographer: Andrey Rudakov / Bloomberg
Murata Manufacturing Co., the world’s largest manufacturer of ceramic capacitors for Apple Inc. and other smartphone brands expect demand for fifth-generation wireless devices to exceed 500 million devices in the next fiscal year, based on the rush to replace Huawei Technologies Co. in the global consumer arena.
Apple, Samsung Electronics Co. and Chinese rivals Xiaomi Corp., Oppo and Vivo are competing to protect components for their devices, hoping to fill a gap, as Huawei’s mobile business shrinks under the weight of US sanctions. President Norio Nakajima said in an interview in December that Murata factories will not be taking a vacation while working to meet growing orders, adding that “the situation is more serious with our state-of-the-art capacitors for smartphone use”.
“These cellphone manufacturers are competing to grab our supply capacity once acquired by Huawei, and I’m not sure how much of that is backed up by their actual production forecast,” said Nakajima. “I to feel as if the change was overheated and therefore we expect your orders to fall in February and March. “
Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota / Bloomberg
Murata is a global leader in MLCC, or multilayer ceramic capacitors, used to regulate electrical flow in circuit boards. Hundreds, sometimes thousands of them, are connected to electronic devices ranging from smartphones to automobiles.
“The industry had 300 million units of 5G smartphones during the current fiscal year and I expect it to increase to at least 500 million in the next fiscal year,” said the president of the Kyoto-based company. “We will continue with capital expenditures to keep up with the growing demand.”
Analysts consider Chief Murata’s stance to be very conservative. Hideki Yasuda, of the Ace Research Institute, does not expect demand from Apple and its peers to fall at any time this year, fueled by stronger consumer appetite than predicted by 5G phones. The devices scheduled for launch this year will also be compatible with a wider set of frequencies, expanding the need for components made in Murata to adjust the flow of electricity.
Yasuda said Murata’s production hiccups are representative of a severe shortage across the electronics supply chain, affecting the assembly of many products, including video game consoles. PlayStation 5 and Microsoft Corp. Xbox series. X both remain with limited supply, almost two months after the initial launch.
Nakajima de Murata does not dispute that the demand for his MLCC will remain strong throughout this year, although he said he expects a short rest after the Lunar New Year holiday in China. He said the company’s MLCC sales would increase by 10% in the next fiscal year, starting in April, mainly due to 5G phones.