Beyond the Board: What Companies Need to Know Before Entering the MilAero PCB Market
Defense Speak Interpreted: If CHIPS Cuts Back, What Happens to Electronics Packaging Funds?
American Made Advocacy: Where’s the Budget for a Modern Military Run on Microelectronics?
AI Infrastructure to Dominate MLCC Demand in 2025 amid Persistent Oversupply Challenges
January 16, 2025 | TrendForceEstimated reading time: 1 minute
TrendForce’s latest investigations have revealed the U.S. economy outperformed market expectations in December 2024, with non-farm payrolls and the Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) delivering strong results. Consequently, the Federal Reserve may significantly scale back the frequency of rate cuts in 2025, prolonging a high-interest-rate environment. This scenario could dampen consumer spending and undermine corporate confidence in investment and expansion. TrendForce estimates that MLCC shipments will reach 1,146.7 billion units in 1Q25, marking a 3% QoQ decline.
Anticipation of Trump’s tax policies, growing GB200 orders, and Lunar New Year stockpiling fuel early-year inventory surge
TrendForce reports that major laptop brands such as Dell and HP have accelerated orders for educational laptop contracts awarded in the second half of 2024 to mitigate potential tariffs anticipated under President Trump’s administration starting January 2025. ODMs like Compal, Quanta, and Inventec have been asked to deliver shipments before January 20, boosting MLCC supplier demand early in the year.
Additionally, growing GB200 orders managed by Foxconn, Quanta, and Wistron, coupled with stockpiling ahead of the Lunar New Year in late January, have further driven a surge in early 2025 MLCC shipments.
Despite this initial momentum, MLCC suppliers remain cautious. The expedited North American shipments may weaken Q2 demand for educational laptops, while potential trade restrictions and tariffs under the new administration could disrupt OEM and ODM production and shipping plans. These factors might also raise upstream supply chain costs and introduce uncertainty around production base relocations.
Slowing growth in consumer electronics: Demand for AI infrastructure stands out
Looking ahead to 2025, AI infrastructure—including servers, accelerators, and power management systems—will remain the primary driver of MLCC demand. Growth across other ICT industries, such as smartphones and notebooks, is expected to remain tepid, with average growth rates projected at under 10%.
TrendForce notes that MLCC suppliers are unlikely to achieve full capacity utilization this year due to persistent oversupply in the market. The ongoing challenge for the industry will be balancing pricing and order volumes—a critical test for navigating 2025.
Share on:
Testimonial
"In a year when every marketing dollar mattered, I chose to keep I-Connect007 in our 2025 plan. Their commitment to high-quality, insightful content aligns with Koh Young’s values and helps readers navigate a changing industry. "
Brent Fischthal - Koh YoungSuggested Items
Knocking Down the Bone Pile: Best Practices for Electronic Component Salvaging
09/17/2025 | Nash Bell -- Column: Knocking Down the Bone PileElectronic component salvaging is the practice of recovering high-value devices from PCBs taken from obsolete or superseded electronic products. These components can be reused in new assemblies, reducing dependence on newly purchased parts that may be costly or subject to long lead times.
On the Line With… Podcast: UHDI and RF Performance
09/17/2025 | I-Connect007I-Connect007 is excited to announce the release of a new episode in its latest On the Line with... podcast series, which shines a spotlight on one of the most important emerging innovations in electronics manufacturing: Ultra-High-Density Interconnect (UHDI).
The Marketing Minute: Cracking the Code of Technical Marketing
09/17/2025 | Brittany Martin -- Column: The Marketing MinuteMarketing is never a one-size-fits-all endeavor, but the challenges are magnified for highly technical industries like electronics. Products and processes are complex, audiences are diverse, and the stakes are high, especially when your customers are engineers, decision-makers, and global partners who depend on your expertise.
EV Group Achieves Breakthrough in Hybrid Bonding Overlay Control for Chiplet Integration
09/12/2025 | EV GroupEV Group (EVG), a leading provider of innovative process solutions and expertise serving leading-edge and future semiconductor designs and chip integration schemes, today unveiled the EVG®40 D2W—the first dedicated die-to-wafer overlay metrology platform to deliver 100 percent die overlay measurement on 300-mm wafers at high precision and speeds needed for production environments. With up to 15X higher throughput than EVG’s industry benchmark EVG®40 NT2 system designed for hybrid wafer bonding metrology, the new EVG40 D2W enables chipmakers to verify die placement accuracy and take rapid corrective action, improving process control and yield in high-volume manufacturing (HVM).
ROHM Develops Ultra-Compact CMOS Op Amp: Delivering Industry-Leading Ultra-Low Circuit Current
09/11/2025 | ROHMROHM’s ultra-compact CMOS Operational Amplifier (op amp) TLR1901GXZ achieves the industry’s lowest operating circuit current.