Price Dynamics and Market Supply and Demand

The price of aluminum electrolytic capacitors is showing a clear upward trend.

Date: March 9, 2026

Content: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Southeast Asia, vertical integration manufacturing factories (IDMs) were forced to shut down, leading to a persistent shortage of metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs). Prices have been rising quarter by quarter. Aluminum electrolytic capacitors are in short supply, resulting in price increases.

Impact: Although the government allowed factories to operate with 60% of their workforce, the pandemic still constrained the transportation of raw materials and finished products. It is estimated that this will affect aluminum electrolytic capacitor production by approximately 20-30%.

Manufacturer Dynamics: Aluminum electrolytic capacitor manufacturers such as Kemet and Lelon have both set new revenue records in June. Jinsan Electric's revenue has also risen accordingly. The world's top three global aluminum electrolytic capacitor suppliers—NIPPON Capacitor, NICHICON, and Rubycon—have raised their previously planned price increase range of 9-12% to 10-15%.

Overall Price Hike Expectation for Passive Components

Date: March 2, 2026

Content: Multiple types of capacitors have started to increase in price, especially MLCCs and tantalum capacitors. MLCCs began to rise gradually starting from October 2025, with high-specification products seeing a 10-15% increase and mid-to-low-end products 5-8%. Regarding tantalum capacitors, Panasonic announced a 15-30% price increase for some tantalum capacitors starting February 1, 2026.

Analysis: The price hike is driven by a surge in end-demand (AI servers) and rising prices of upstream raw materials. Premium aluminum electrolytic capacitors and upstream anode foils are also expected to start increasing in price. The recent stock price increases of Japanese aluminum electrolytic leaders Nichicon and Chemicon also reflect the price hike expectation.