Driven by surging demand for AI servers, Murata Manufacturing, the leading manufacturer of MLCC (Multi-Layer Ceramic Capacitors), will expand its MLCC factories to meet market needs and is considering accelerating its capital investment plan. In addition, Murata has denied market rumors claiming it will discontinue automotive and general-purpose products.
Nikkei reported on the 13th that Murata Manufacturing will expand its MLCC factories to cope with rising demand amid the rapid growth of MLCC consumption for AI servers. Murata President Norihiro Nakajima stated in an interview,“We are evaluating capacity expansion in regions familiar with Murata’ s manufacturing methods.”
Norihiro Nakajima said,“Adjustments are underway, and we aim to finalize details ahead of the release of our half-year financial results at month-end.” This indicates Murata plans to lock in details of the expansion plan, including investment amounts, before releasing its financial statements at the end of October. Murata is currently negotiating with production equipment suppliers and assessing the acquisition of required factory premises. Murata previously announced plans to invest approximately 80 billion yen in MLCC production equipment over the two years ending in fiscal 2027. Regarding the investment roadmap, Norihiro Nakajima commented,“We are evaluating how much we can bring forward the investment timeline.”
Reports state each AI server requires 15,000 to 25,000 MLCC components. The global boom in data center construction has triggered a sharp surge in MLCC orders. Norihiro Nakajima noted,“We originally projected the factory in Izumo, Shimane Prefecture would reach full capacity only by 2030, yet full utilization may be achieved as early as this year.”
Murata refuted media reports alleging that Murata will phase out automotive and general-purpose products to focus solely on MLCC for AI servers. Norihiro Nakajima emphasized,“The company reviews its MLCC product portfolio every three to six months. We will continue manufacturing mainstream products including low-cost items. Our policy of preventing competitors, mainly Chinese manufacturers, from gaining an upper hand remains unchanged.”
Murata Manufacturing released its financial results on July 31. Benefiting from robust demand for MLCC capacitors used in AI servers, the total order intake for Q2 2026 (April–June) reached 673.9 billion yen, a sharp 56.3% year-on-year increase, hitting an all-time quarterly high. Capacitor orders alone jumped 85.5% to 415.5 billion yen.
Murata’ s Book-to-Bill (BB) ratio stood at 1.34 in Q2. It marked the seventh consecutive quarter above the threshold indicating strong order activity and the highest reading in at least 24 quarters (dating back to Q3 2020, when quarterly BB ratio data became available on Murata’ s official website for reference).
Post time: Nov-02-2026