Philippine capital "closes city" for a month, MLCC supply may be tighter

Because the Philippines' capital Manila will be "closed" for a month starting on the 15th, the industry is worried that Murata and Samsung Electric, which have considerable MLCC production capacity in the Philippines, may be affected. Taiwan media pointed out that when the inventory is empty, the subsequent supply of MLCC may be more tight.

In order to prevent and control the epidemic, Philippine President Duterte announced on the 12th that the "community segregation" policy will be implemented in the Metro Manila region of the capital, and that all air, sea and land transportation to and from Metro Manila will be suspended. The "closed city" order will take effect from March 15 to April 14.

According to the China Times Newspaper, the Philippines' "capped city" action has caused concern in the passive component industry. The world's top two MLCC factories, Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. and Samsung Electric, each have considerable production capacity in the Philippines, each with a proportion of 15% and 40%. Therefore, the industry believes that since the volcanic eruption in the Philippines since January, "cities closed" one after another, when the inventory is empty, the subsequent supply of MLCC may be more tight.

The report pointed out that the volcanic eruption in the Philippines in January this year, due to the temporary closure of the international airport, has affected the Philippines's MLCC shipments, which has also become one of the key factors for MLCC price increases. Among the eight existing airports in the Philippines, the three main ones are located in Manila. The "cities closure" lasted for one month. The industry believes that personnel flow and transportation will be limited, and the output of the MLCC production line will be limited. The impact on shipments will probably exceed the previous one.

In addition, the industry also believes that "closing the city" is not the time to come. If it is during the normal period, there is still a chance for natural adjustment of MLCC supply and demand, but now the inventory is empty. The tight and low capacity specifications are mainly supplied by Samsung Electric and Yageo. As the EMS factory pulls up, the mainland China factory resumes work. Rate, subsequent MLCC supply and demand may be more tight.

More importantly, the passive component industry took ten years to bid farewell to the era of small factories. After high integration, it has entered the oligopoly stage. In other words, any supplier's supply convergence will have a significant impact on the global use of materials. The industry judges that in the second quarter, Japan and South Korea's MLCC plants will not rule out an increase in the price of agents.