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 phones next year, based on a rush to replace Huawei Technologies Co. in the global consumer sphere.
Apple, Samsung Electronics Co. and Chinese rivals Xiaomi Corp., Oppo and Vivo are vying to secure components for their devices, hoping to fill a gap as Huawei’s mobile business shrinks under the weight of American sanctions. President Norio Nakajima said in an interview in December that the Murata factories will not take a holiday while they work to catch up with growing orders, adding that “the situation is more serious with our cutting-edge capacitors for to the use of smartphones “.
“These mobile phone manufacturers compete to get our supply capacity once taken over by Huawei, and I’m not sure what part of their backup is based on their actual production forecasts,” Nakajima said. “Jo feel as if the move is overheating, so they expect their orders to drop in February and March. “
Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota / Bloomberg
Murata is the world leader in multilayer ceramic capacitors or MLCCs, which are used to regulate electrical flow on circuit boards. Hundreds, sometimes thousands of them, are connected to electronic products ranging from smartphones to cars.
“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 next year,” said the president of the Kyoto-based company. “We will continue to make capital expenditures to keep up with growing demand.”
Analysts consider Murata’s head posture too conservative. Hideki Yasuda of the Ace Research Institute does not expect demand from Apple and its allies to decline at any point in this calendar year, fueled by consumer appetite stronger than expected for 5G phones. The phones to be launched this year will also be compatible with a wider set of frequencies, increasing the need for components manufactured by Murata to adjust the flow of electricity.
Yasuda said Murata’s production problems are representative of the severe shortage in the electronics supply chain, affecting the assembly of many products, including video game consoles. PlayStation 5 and Sony Corp. Microsoft Corp. Xbox Series X both remain limited in supply, almost two months after the initial release.
Murata’s Nakajima does not argue that demand for his MLCC will remain strong throughout this year, although he said he expected a brief respite after China’s lunar New Year holidays. He said the company’s MLCC sales would increase by 10% in the next fiscal year starting in April, mainly due to 5G phones.