In January Patently Apple posted a report titled "Apple Supplier Murata is building out Production of key Multilayer Ceramic Capacitors to Keep Up with demand for 5G iPhones." Murata played a major role in Apple's roaring success with 5G iPhone adoption around the globe. The demand for Apple's 5G iPhone 12 is so high that it pressured Murata to cancel holidays for plant workers in order to keep up."

We're learning today that Japan suffered an earthquake yesterday with a magnitude of 7.4 that has disrupted Murata's production line. Specifically, Reuters is reporting that "Kyoto-based Murata, the top global supplier of ceramic capacitors, which are used in smartphones, computers and cars, said it had suspended operations at four factories following the quake. The company confirmed that a fire, later extinguished, broke out at one facility producing chip inductors."

At present, it's just too early to speculate whether the down time at Murata's four plants will delay any 5G iPhone production.

Beyond the possible setback for Apple, the auto industry may take yet another hit as well. Renesas last year emerged as a supply chokepoint after a fire broke out at its Naka plant in Ibaraki prefecture. The firm, which makes nearly a third of the microcontroller chips used in cars globally, said on Thursday it had temporarily halted production at two plants and partially stopped output at a third.

For more on this, read the full Reuters report.

Posted by Jack Purcher on March 17, 2022 at 08:25 AM in 5. Apple News | Permalink | Comments (0)

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