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 coming financial year, building on a rush to replace Huawei Technologies Co. in the global consumer arena.
Appeal, Samsung Electronics Co. and Chinese competitors Xiaomi Corp., Oppo and Vivo are fighting to secure components for their devices, hoping to fill a void as Huawei’s mobile business shrinks under the weight of US sanctions. President Norio Nakajima said in an interview in December that Murata’s factories would not take a holiday break as they work to catch up with the increasing orders, adding: ‘the situation is the worst with our leading capacitors for smartphone use . ‘
“These mobile phone manufacturers are competing to grab our offering capacity once they have taken Huawei, and I’m not sure how much of that is backed up by their actual production estimate,” Nakajima said. ‘I bird such as that the move was overheated, and therefore expected their orders to drop in February and March. ”
Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota / Bloomberg
Murata is the world leader in MLCC, or multilayer ceramic capacitors, used to regulate electric flow in circuits. Hundreds, sometimes thousands of them, are connected to electronics ranging from smartphones to cars.
“The industry had 300 million units of 5G smartphones during the current financial year, and I expect this to increase to at least 500 million in the next financial year,” said the president of the company in Kyoto. “We continue to invest capital to keep up with the growing demand.”
Analysts view the attitude of the Murata chief as conservative. Aid Research Institute, Hideki Yasuda, does not expect demand from Apple and its kind to decline at any point in this calendar year, fueled by stronger-than-expected consumer appetite for 5G phones. Phones to be released this year will also be compatible with a wider set of frequencies, which will increase the need for components manufactured by Murata to adjust the current.
Yasuda said Murata’s production hurdles are representative of severe shortages in the electronic supply chain, affecting the composition of many products, including video games. Sony Corporation’s PlayStation 5 en Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox Series X both remain limited in supply, almost two months after their initial release.
Murata’s Nakajima does not dispute that demand for his MLCC will remain strong during this year, although he said he expects a short break after China’s New Year holiday. He said the company’s MLCC sales would increase by 10% in the next financial year starting in April, mainly due to 5G phones.