Natural disasters are never good for the global supply chain.
Over in Japan, a 7.4 magnitude tremor shut down a good portion of the nation’s manufacturing on Thursday. Included in these closures is Murata, which produces ceramic capacitors for Apple.
The earthquake claimed four lives and caused 97 injuries.
Company Murata, which is located in Kyoto, Japan, is one of the largest manufacturers of ceramic capacitors. These units are used in smartphones, cars and computers, the components are also crucial to iPhone’s 5G capabilities. In response to the earthquake, Murata halted production at four of their facilities.
The company currently leads the globe in multilayer ceramic capacitors, or MLLC, which help to regulate electrical flow in circuit boards. Murata’s MLCCs in particular hold ten times more electricity in their storage than competing capacitors.
Other companies, including Sony, felt the impact of the earthquake as well. Sony closed three factories on Thursday, these facilities producing storage media, laser diodes and image sensors.
The situation makes things that much more precarious in that these factories produce parts that are not being made anywhere else in the world, thereby straining the supply chain that much more.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.
Via The Mac Observer and The Associated Press