Tantalum capacitors doubled by the end of the year? No, the price in the fourth quarter may be slightly lowered!

Tantalum capacitors are one of the four core capacitor products. They have the characteristics of high energy density, high reliability, stable electrical performance, and wide operating temperature range. Therefore, tantalum capacitors are widely used in 5G base stations. At present, the most well-known tantalum capacitor manufacturers in the world mainly include AVX, KEMET, and VISHAY. Among them, KEMET was acquired by Yageo. The main domestic manufacturers include Xiangyi Zhongyuan and Zhenhua Technology.

Due to the epidemic, the domestic tantalum capacitor market has indeed been affected this year. Xie Wenyi, vice president of sales at Hunan Xiangyi Zhongyuan Technology Co., Ltd., told electronic enthusiasts that the epidemic at the beginning of the year caused AVX, KEMET, VISHAY and other manufacturers' tantalum capacitors to fail to enter the domestic market smoothly. In addition, the production sites of tantalum capacitors in the Czech Republic, El Salvador, Mexico and other countries have a very low rate of resumption of work, and some even did not resume work until July. This has led to insufficient production capacity of tantalum capacitors and shortages in the domestic market.

However, the price increase is not as serious as market rumors. Xie Wenyi said that there were indeed several fluctuations in the domestic market this year. The first was the domestic epidemic at the beginning of the year. At this time, foreign manufacturers had not stopped the supply of goods and domestic agents had sufficient stocks. There may be a wave of market speculation; later, the domestic epidemic began to be brought under control, and the foreign epidemic spread. At this time, foreign manufacturers’ tantalum capacitors began to have difficulties entering the country. However, the initial agents still had about several months and a year of stocking, but because The epidemic has not been controlled, and the initial stockings have gradually been exhausted, and the subsequent market has really started to be out of stock.

In fact, when foreign tantalum capacitors are difficult to enter, the supply capacity of domestic tantalum capacitor manufacturers is increasing. Electronic enthusiasts have learned from Hongda Electronics’ report in the first half of 2020 that due to the impact of the epidemic, market supply is unstable, and Hongda Electronics’ orders are substantial. The operating income of civilian tantalum capacitors increased by 111.56% year-on-year. All of Hongda Electronics' civil tantalum capacitor business is completed by Xiangyi Zhongyuan.

The lack of stock this time has a positive side for both domestic tantalum capacitor manufacturers and equipment manufacturers. Xie Wenyi believes that when the products of international manufacturers AVX, KEMET, and VISHAY cannot enter the Chinese market, domestic manufacturers should not just stay focused Changes in shipments and prices should be considered from a long-term strategic level. Take this opportunity to let terminal manufacturers who are not accustomed to using domestic tantalum capacitors begin to contact and familiarize themselves with domestic tantalum capacitor products, and strive to enter the supply chain of new major customers . This epidemic caused a shortage of goods, and Xiangyi Zhongyuan seized the opportunity to enter the supply chain of several important new customers, including Hikvision and Xinhua San.

For domestic equipment manufacturers, after this shortage, they are more aware that domestic tantalum capacitor products are not only technically excellent. In the future, even if the supply of tantalum capacitors from manufacturers such as AVX resumes, these manufacturers will think that from domestic The purchase of some tantalum capacitors from manufacturers can better ensure stable production capacity.

In response to the question of whether tantalum capacitors will continue to fluctuate in the future, Xie Wenyi said that with the resumption of work by AVX and other manufacturers, foreign manufacturers have begun to resume supply one after another, which can meet part of the demand. Up to now, although there are still some in the tantalum capacitor market. The out-of-stock situation is quite good compared to the previous two quarters, and it is expected that the tantalum capacitor market will develop steadily in the fourth quarter without fluctuations, and there may even be a slight decline in prices.

In terms of delivery, the tantalum capacitor market does have some changes this year. For example, AVX has been delivering 30 weeks from the second quarter to now, but it is expected to ease to 22 weeks in the fourth quarter. It can be seen that the fluctuation of the tantalum capacitor market has basically returned to stability in the fourth quarter of this year.

At present, major operators are accelerating the construction of 5G base stations. According to the data of the three major operators, China Unicom has established 260,000 5G base stations with China Telecom, and it is expected to reach 370,000 by the end of the year. China Mobile will be in China in the first half of the year. More than 50 cities have opened a total of 188,000 5G base stations. The rapid construction of 5G base stations will bring huge market opportunities to tantalum capacitors, especially polymer tantalum capacitors.

5G base stations have high temperature requirements, and polymer tantalum capacitors can work at temperatures above 125°C. The base stations of enterprises such as Huawei, Xinhua 3, ZTE, and Fiberhome all use polymer tantalum capacitors.

At present, various tantalum capacitor manufacturers are increasing their investment in polymer tantalum capacitors. According to Xie Wenyi, KEMET is making every effort to promote polymer tantalum capacitors. AVX has converted 30% of its production capacity to polymer tantalum capacitors. Xiangyi Zhongyuan has already shipped a lot of polymer tantalum capacitors, but currently the manganese dioxide tantalum capacitors account for a relatively high proportion, accounting for about 60-70%. However, with future development, it is expected that after 2-3 years, polymer The proportion of tantalum capacitors will gradually increase.