Benzinga | Aug 30, 2021 04:04PM EDT

A Look At Losers And Gainers From The Pandemic-Led MLCC Crisis: WSJ

* Asia's pandemic resurgence threatens the manufacture of ceramic bits in Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhones and Sony Group Corp (NYSE:SONY) Playstations, the Wall Street Journal reports.

* Japan's Murata Manufacturing Co Ltd (OTC:MRAAF) (OTC:MRAAY), a key manufacturer of multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs), had to shut down a vital factory due to the resurgence. It was utilizing the other plants to make up for the production loss.

* Malaysia's Taiyo Yuden Co Ltd (OTC:TYOYY) had to reduce production capacity to 80% - 85% of total following a government mandate.

* MLCCs offer storage capacity for electrical energy leading to higher performance in tight spaces like the inside of a phone. Southeast Asia, Japan, South Korea, China, and Taiwan, which mainly account for the manufacture of MLCCs, have been severely impacted by the pandemic's latest variant.

* Earlier smartphones needed a few hundred components, while a smartphone with high-speed 5G data service contains more than 1,000. The same is the case for EVs.

* Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co and Murata's MLCC factories in the Philippines also remain vulnerable due to the country's rising cases.

* Interestingly, Taiwan's Yageo Corp's (OTC:YAGOY) plants in China and Taiwan are ready to ramp up the volume and handle rush orders.

* Price Action: SONY shares closed lower by 0.76% at $102.47 on the last check Monday.