Recently, the global MLCC (Multi-Layer Ceramic Capacitor) industry has ushered in a new round of supply-side adjustments. Murata Manufacturing officially announced the optimization of its product line, gradually halting production of some conventional part numbers for consumer and automotive applications, while Samsung Electro-Mechanics simultaneously raised its Q4 MLCC product prices.
Against the industry backdrop of overseas leaders proactively shrinking low-end capacity and focusing on high-end, high-value-added products, domestic MLCC mid-stream manufacturing and upstream material companies are accelerating their pace, continuously increasing capacity layout and making up for shortcomings in the industrial chain.
01. Murata Halts Production of Some Conventional Consumer and Automotive Series Products
On September 10, global MLCC leader Murata Manufacturing issued a product change notification to its customers, announcing that it will advance the optimization of its MLCC product line in the 2026 fiscal year, arrange production halts for some mature part numbers, and simultaneously adjust capacity allocation to expand the capacity of high-value-added MLCC products.
The notification sets clear timelines for customer communication and order placement. Customers must complete written replies to confirm alternative solutions by the end of 2027. The final order deadline for the relevant part numbers is March 31, 2028, and the final shipment deadline for the products is March 31, 2029.
This production halt only targets specific part numbers within nine major series, not a complete supply stop for the entire series. It involves conventional consumer products and specific models within automotive specifications, covering the GRM, GRJ, GRT, GXM, GXT, GCM, GCJ, GCG, and ZRA series. Murata will gradually exit the low-margin mature general-purpose MLCCs and redirect the released production line resources to high-capacitance, high-value-added MLCC products such as those for AI servers.
02. Sunway Communication Gains Control of Yiyang Electronic Technology to Layout MLCC Business
On September 23, Sunway Communication released an announcement on the progress of acquiring equity in a joint-stock company and related-party transactions. The acquisition of 55% equity in Sunway Electronic Technology (Yiyang) Co., Ltd. by the company's wholly-owned subsidiary, Sunway Communication (Yiyang) Co., Ltd., has completed the industrial and commercial change registration and obtained the business license issued by the market regulation department.
The transaction consideration is CNY 1.1 billion, funded by the company's own or self-raised funds. After the acquisition is completed, Yiyang Xinwei holds 70% equity in Yiyang Electronic Technology, achieving controlling interest, and Yiyang Electronic Technology is included in the consolidated statements of Sunway Communication. The announcement disclosed that this acquisition aims to meet the continuously growing demand for high-end MLCC products from global customers and advance the strategic layout of the high-end MLCC business.
Sunway Communication has accumulated years of experience in passive components such as RF, antennas, and connectors. The MLCC business is the company's key second growth curve. Yiyang Electronic Technology is the main entity for the high-end MLCC project incubated by Sunway Communication. Product technical verification has been completed in the early stage, and sample introduction has been carried out with some domestic and overseas customers.
03. SDK Plans to Invest CNY 1.652 Billion in BOPET Base Film Project
While the mid-stream manufacturing end is accelerating breakthroughs, the upstream core material segment of the domestic MLCC industry is also witnessing key actions to make up for shortcomings.
On September 23, SDK released a major investment announcement stating that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Jiangsu Xingyuantai New Materials, will invest in and construct an expansion project for 103,000 tons per year of high-end functional BOPET (Biaxially Oriented Polyethylene Terephthalate) base film in Sihong, Jiangsu. The total project investment reaches CNY 1.652 billion, with an overall construction period of 1.5 years.
After the project is put into production, it can achieve large-scale mass production of multiple high-end functional base materials, including MLCC release film base film, polarizer release protective film base film, and photoresist dry film base film. The products are widely used in multiple core fields such as MLCC microelectronics manufacturing, precision PCBs (Printed Circuit Boards), smart terminals, and automotive electronics.
Earlier on June 16, SDK announced its plan to invest CNY 565 million to construct a high-end MLCC release film project with an annual output of 1.2 billion square meters, expanding the finished product capacity of MLCC release films. Ultra-thin specification products have completed certification by some customers and achieved small-batch supply.
04. MLCC Industry Officially Enters an Upward Trend
As the most widely used passive component in the electronics industry, MLCCs are widely applied in fields such as consumer electronics, automotive, industrial control, and computing power equipment, serving as core basic materials for electronic manufacturing.
Since the beginning of this year, the MLCC industry has seen multiple price adjustments. Industry analysis suggests that the core driver behind the frequent price increases of MLCCs is the explosive demand reconstruction brought by scenarios such as high computing power and new energy.
In the AI server field, computing clusters equipped with high-power chips have extremely high requirements for power management. The MLCC usage per unit has increased several times compared to traditional servers, and it highly relies on high-end specifications with ultra-high capacitance and low equivalent series resistance (ESR).
Meanwhile, the popularization of NEVs (New Energy Vehicles) and intelligent driving has brought about an exponential expansion in usage. The per-vehicle usage in high-level intelligent driving pure electric vehicles can reach tens of thousands, far exceeding that of traditional internal combustion engine vehicles. This surge in structural demand has driven up the market value of mid-to-high-end MLCCs.
In stark contrast to the surging demand is the capacity crowding out and insufficient technical elasticity on the supply side.
Faced with high-profit orders for AI and automotive applications, overseas giants such as Murata have chosen to strategically tilt their core capacity towards high-end products, thereby squeezing the production space for conventional general-purpose MLCCs and prompting an increase in overall benchmark quotations.
At the same time, high-end MLCCs involve extremely high technical thresholds such as nanometer-level ceramic powder and thousand-layer tape casting. The difficulty in improving yield rates and the long capacity expansion cycle result in the supply being unable to respond to the demand explosion in a timely manner.
TrendForce, a global high-tech industry research institution, stated that South Korean giant SEMCO (Samsung Electro-Mechanics) recently took the lead in raising its Q4 2026 quotations for OEM and ODM customers, indicating that the MLCC industry has officially entered an upward trend.
TrendForce estimates that SEMCO will increase the prices of consumer-grade X5R products for OEM and ODM customers by an average of 25% to 30%, thereby suppressing order intentions and freeing up capacity to expand high-end production lines. For high-end X6S products applied in AI servers, the price increase will be subject to customer negotiations, with an average increase ranging from 10% to 20%.
Meanwhile, TrendForce pointed out that the shortage of materials and cost pressure under the AI crowding-out effect have opened up opportunities for the mainland China supply chain. It is understood that brand manufacturers such as Dell, HP, ASUS, and Acer have completed the verification of related memory supply. Through the introduction of ODM manufacturers such as Huaqin, LCFC, and Luxshare, they have begun to verify MLCC products from Viiyong Electronic Technology and Chaozhou Three-Circle. Manufacturers such as Quanta and Pegatron have also visited Chaozhou Three-Circle and started verification. [Related Reading]
Overall, the demand for high-end MLCCs in the fields of AI computing power, new energy, and optical communication remains continuously tight. The traditional consumer electronics market demand is relatively flat, showing a situation where the peak season is not booming. The pattern of industrial structural differentiation and accelerated domestic substitution has begun to emerge.
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