According to the Nikkei News today, Murata plans to build a new MLCC plant in Shimane Prefecture, Japan, with an estimated investment of about 40 billion yen. The new plant will start construction in October 2018 and is expected to be completed by the end of 2019.
The report pointed out that Apple's new iPhone product demand for MLCC will expand after the second half of the year, coupled with electric vehicles (EV), autonomous driving and 5G commercialization, the shortage of MLCC may become more and more serious.
As early as June 8 this year, Murata announced a production increase plan, invested 29 billion yen to build a new MLCC plant near its Fukui Plant, which is expected to be completed in December 2019. According to the plan at the time, Murata plans to increase the overall capacity of its Fukui Plant MLCC by 10% in three years. Now with the new plant in Shimane Prefecture, Murata has adjusted its target, the new target is to increase the overall capacity of Murata MLCC by 20% by the end of March 2020.
According to reports, some analysts pointed out that the slowdown in smart phone sales may have slowed the demand for MLCC, and the trade war between China and the United States may lead to a slowdown in the global economy, and at the same time, the export of Chinese-made electronic products equipped with MLCC to the United States will be reduced. However, analysts believe that even in this case, the MLCC will remain in short supply in the next year.
