The market for Multilayer Ceramic Chip Capacitors (MLCCs), often dubbed the "rice of the electronic industry" due to their essential role in electronic circuits, has recently exhibited significant divergence. The burgeoning demand for artificial intelligence (AI) has precipitated a scarcity of high-capacity MLCC models, propelling prices to soar. Spot prices for certain models have escalated to 2-10 times their original levels. Meanwhile, prices for ordinary consumer-grade MLCCs have initially surged, only to subsequently decline.

In late May, amidst an explosion in demand for AI computing power, major overseas manufacturers pivoted their production towards high-end MLCC products. This shift, coupled with channel distributors' stockpiling activities, precipitated severe volatility in spot prices throughout June, with prices fluctuating almost on a daily basis.

As July dawned, prices for consumer-grade MLCCs commenced a downward trajectory, driven by concentrated selling from channel distributors and lackluster downstream demand. For instance, the price of the general-purpose model 0603-104 surged from 5 yuan per 1,000 units in the second quarter to 30 yuan by the end of June, only to plummet back to 10 yuan in the ensuing period.