Tantalum capacitor may double the price! Is the supplier alarmist?

Remember the MLCC price hikes in previous years? Major suppliers even raised their prices four times in a year, leaving buyers facing the dilemma of a hard-to-find MLCC.

In fact, there are many suppliers of general components and their prices are generally stable. However, due to the sudden increase in industrial demand or the impact of emergencies, it will also bring about insufficient production capacity, shortage of goods and price increases. The MLCC in the past few years is the reason. Due to the large demand stimulated by smart phones and cars, coupled with the original insufficient production capacity, it has led to a wave of MLCC price increases that lasted for several years.

Recently, according to Taiwan media reports, the major passive component manufacturer Yageo issued a warning that the price of tantalum capacitor may double by the end of the year.

Yageo said that due to 5G driving demand for tantalum capacitor, coupled with the effect of price increases driven by the epidemic, it is estimated that the price of tantalum capacitor will double by the end of this year.

21ic understands that tantalum capacitor and MLCC, aluminum electrolytic, and film capacitor are the four commonly used capacitor in the industry. Tantalum capacitor have high density, high reliability and stability, and wide temperature range characteristics, and are widely used in industrial and consumer markets. According to statistics, the global market size in 2019 is approximately USD 1.6 billion.

Tantalum capacitor are widely used in fast charging devices for mobile phones due to their stable output and small size. In addition, tantalum capacitor are also ideal for 5G devices with large outdoor temperature changes and high requirements for service life and reliability. Choice. With the start of 5G commercial use, 5G base stations will be deployed in large numbers, which will increase the demand for tantalum capacitor.

At present, international tantalum capacitor manufacturers represented by the US companies VISHAY, KEMET, and AVX dominate the international tantalum capacitor market. However, due to the spread of the epidemic in Europe and the United States in the second quarter, the production capacity of overseas manufacturers was affected, and the gap between supply and demand expanded. Increase the price by 10%-15%. Yageo stated that the price increase of some items will take effect from May until the end of September; since manufacturers increased their prices, the surrounding spot retail sales have increased by 2 to 3 times, and the industry predicts that the price increase may increase by the end of this year There is also 1 times.