According to the latest research from TrendForce, strong demand for AI chips has led to tight supply and demand for high-end Multi-Layer Ceramic Capacitors (MLCCs), which in turn has constrained availability for consumer-grade MLCCs. This situation has prompted some distributors to engage in precautionary stockpiling, with suppliers responding by adjusting prices. Recent pricing negotiations between Original Design Manufacturers (ODMs) and suppliers indicate that the average overall price decline for MLCCs has hit a three-year low, suggesting the MLCC price cycle is at a critical inflection point poised for an upward turn.
Examining the shifts in high-end MLCC demand, the NVIDIA GB200 board incorporates approximately 6,500 MLCCs. The next-generation Rubin platform, with its doubled Thermal Design Power (TDP) and significantly increased power management complexity, is expected to drive per-board usage to nearly double, around 12,000 units. This surge is a primary source of the current supply-demand imbalance for high-end MLCCs. Concurrently, the ongoing volume ramp of ASIC self-developed chips by North American Cloud Service Providers (CSPs) like Microsoft, AWS, Google, and Meta Platforms, Inc., along with increased orders for CoWoS advanced packaging, further underpins long-term, inelastic demand for high-end MLCCs.
Consequently, major Japanese and Korean suppliers are shifting production capacity towards AI applications, leading to a quarterly contraction in supply flexibility for consumer products. Faced with ongoing tight control over consumer MLCC production capacity and inventory, some distributors have initiated precautionary stockpiling of X5R standard products (capacitance range 1000pF-10µF). This has created an asymmetric demand phenomenon characterized by "declining actual ODM orders but rising distributor orders."
In April 2026, Taiyo Yuden took the lead by raising prices for consumer-grade low-capacitance and automotive MLCCs by approximately 6% to 13%. This move triggered a chain reaction in the distribution market and prompted another key player, SEMCO (Samsung Electro-Mechanics), to actively consider following suit with price increases for its distributors. The aim is to curb the spread of channel stockpiling, mitigate the risk of duplicate orders, optimize the profit structure of consumer products, and ensure reasonable resource allocation for high-value-added production capacity.
TrendForce's investigation reveals that some ODMs completed their Q3 2026 pricing negotiations by early May. Driven by the supply chain's rising price sentiment, the average overall MLCC price decline was less than 0.5%, marking the lowest drop in nearly three years. This clearly reflects a significant recovery in sellers' pricing power.
As most ODMs commence a new round of pricing negotiations from late May onwards, whether the current sentiment can catalyze a comprehensive reversal in MLCC prices will be a key focus for subsequent observation. TrendForce notes that high-end MLCC supply remains tight in the short term, driven by AI server and ASIC packaging and testing orders, with little expectation for immediate improvement. For consumer products, a price floor is gradually forming following Taiyo Yuden's increase and SEMCO's evaluation of a similar move. The future strength and sustainability of this price reversal trend will be jointly determined by the pricing stance of Murata and SEMCO, the actual volume scale of ASIC orders in the second half of the year, and the outcomes of the ODMs' new round of negotiations.
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