Global geopolitical uncertainty weakens the dollar, driving up material prices and squeezing passive component profits. PC sector faces AI-driven supply squeezes, rising costs, and CPU shortages, leading to weak consumer MLCC orders and supplier cutbacks for stability. In contrast, AI data center demand surges, boosting high-end MLCC shipments, with suppliers shifting capacity to high-margin areas. Industry shows K-shaped recovery, requiring flexible capacity adjustments for supply-demand balance.

Key Highlights

• Geopolitical Uncertainty: U.S. administration's unpredictable style erodes ally trust, prompting Eurasian nations to deepen ties with China and build non-dollar payment systems, diminishing the dollar's safe-haven status and inflating metal material prices, impacting passive component supply chains.
• PC Industry Challenges: Supply chains squeezed by AI demands, with escalating material costs including memory and active/passive components; key CPU shortages affect ODMs and brands, resulting in reduced consumer MLCC capacity to maintain inventory and price stability.
• Strong AI Demand: Data center stocking momentum remains robust, with server ODMs rushing materials for timely shipments; high-end applications like IC packaging, accelerator cards, and optical modules drive demand for high-voltage, ultra-small MLCCs, leading major suppliers to reallocate capacity toward high-margin AI specs.
• Industry Polarization: High-end MLCC orders heat up while consumer ones weaken, with suppliers controlling low-voltage standard product intake, prompting clients to seek alternatives; overall K-shaped recovery suggests flexible capacity scheduling and inventory management to maximize AI profits and optimize consumer utilization for operational resilience.

Table of Contents

1. Market Update
2. Trendforce's View 

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