IPhone 13 announcement in danger

The Global Center for the production of surface – mounted capacitors – Malaysia-has extended quarantine restrictions indefinitely. This is due to a serious increase in cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus. the list of measures also includes restrictions on the movement of citizens and their stay at work. All this threatens to lead to a reduction in the supply of capacitors, which may lead to disruption of announcements planned for this fall, including the release of a new Apple smartphone.

Many companies are engaged in the production of electrolytic, tantalum and MLCC capacitors (for surface mounting) in Malaysia. The shortage does not yet threaten MLCC-products of the lower and middle price categories, the inventory of which will last for 60 days. But the supply of "elite" capacitors will be depleted in 30 days. These include elements with high performance that satisfy Apple and server hardware manufacturers. Such elements risk soon becoming scarce products, according to TrendForce analysts.

In particular, Japanese companies Taiyo Yuden (manufacturer of MLCC), NDK and Epson (suppliers of silicon wafers for the production of capacitors) and Panasonic (manufacturer of electrolytic capacitors) have already faced restrictions on production and supply in Malaysia. Taiwanese manufacturers in Malaysia, such as R-Chip Walsin Technology, also reported interruptions in work. All of them, in one way or another, have already felt the indefinite extension of quarantine restrictions in this country.

Japanese and other manufacturers with factories outside Malaysia expect to benefit from the current situation. Murata, Kyocera and Samsung are betting on this, but their capacity will not be enough to fully cover a possible shortage, analysts warn.

Suppliers of high – quality capacitors for Apple equipment – Murata, Taiyo Yuden and Kyocera-are already warning about a possible shortage of elements to meet the needs of all customers, the list of which, in addition to Apple, includes manufacturers of laptops, servers and network products. Deliveries of computer and electronic products in the third and fourth quarters may be significantly delayed due to this. It is not difficult to predict that a shortage will cause prices to rise. Source