What is the impact of the shutdown of MLCC leader Murata?

What is the impact of the shutdown of MLCC leader Murata?

The earthquake in Japan at the beginning of the year affected many major semiconductor manufacturers. Fortunately, most of them have returned to normal. However, three factories of MLCC factory Murata have not resumed production yet. On January 11, a notification letter lacking official signature was issued again. Spread in the circle of friends: It is rumored that a Murata factory needs to be rebuilt, related products are not available, and customers need to find substitutes. triggering market jitters.

On January 17, Taiwanese media reported that the Muratasana Hydro Inductor Factory was severely affected by the Ishikawa earthquake. It has issued a message to customers stating that it will be offline until mid-May and cannot resume production. It is recommended that customers switch to purchasing alternative inductor materials from competitors. At the same time, the original text of a notice rumored to be from Murata’s original factory began to circulate. The notice stated that as of January 15, 2024, it is expected that production at Anamizu Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. will not be resumed before mid-May 2024 at the earliest. It is recommended that the corresponding products Replace with substitute material.

Many Murata agents/dealers said that they only received notices that they could not accept orders for the time being. The earthquake did have an impact on the delivery schedule of some Murata inductors, mainly involving the LQH and DLW series. Currently, the delivery schedule is no longer available for reference. , new orders cannot be placed temporarily.

The LQH series covers LQH2H, LQH32, LQH3N, LQH43, LQH44, LQH55, LQH5B, LQH66, NFZ32, and NFZ5B, and is expected to have a greater impact. A friend said, “There is no delivery date for these materials yet, and the details will depend on the situation later.”

In addition to the obstruction in the supply of inductors, Murata’s SAW filters are currently being discussed more. Murata SAW filters account for nearly 50% of the global market. The epicenter of Kanazawa Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. mainly produces high-frequency devices and MEMS sensors, including SAW filters with frequencies from 700MHz to 3.5GHz (mainly used in mobile phones and GPS). The Kamisendai factory produces SAW filters ranging from 700MHz to 2.7GHz.

However, Kanazawa Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. will gradually resume production from January 9, and the impact is expected to be small. “Murata’s capacitors and filters have little impact, and the inductors have yet to be restored by the factory.”

According to the impact investigation report of the strong earthquake in the Noto area of ​​Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan, released by TrendForce earlier, TrendForce pointed out that the initial inspection equipment of most factories did not suffer serious damage, and the impact was determined to be controllable. The main reason is that the current semiconductor industry is still in a downward cycle and has entered the off-season. Some components are still in stock. In addition, most factories are located in 4-5 magnitude earthquake zones, which are within the factory’s earthquake-resistant design range.

Overall, MLCC is still in a period of low-speed growth. According to Future Electronics’ Q4 market report, the prices of most Q4 passive components products are stable. Except for some thin film resistors, the delivery time is still more than 40 weeks, and the delivery time of most products has been shortened. In terms of application, white goods, PCs, and personal consumer products are still in a sluggish state.

Murata’s recent market situation has not been a big splash. The demand for consumer electronics terminals is still weak, the demand for automobiles is strong, and applications such as industrial control and 5G are stable. After the earthquake, some people may want to take the opportunity to raise prices. It is recommended that friends who want to stock up should be cautious and wait for official follow-up news.