Capacitors


drives, navigation systems, camcorders and PDAs, Gonnerman said


When checking availability for


the POSCAP parts at the Sanyo Components Direct website, estimated lead times were quoted at 24 weeks.


In addition, Gonnerman is "hearing


that prices are expected to increase 10 to 20 percent by the end of the second quarter."


However,many capacitor


manufacturers don'twant to speculate on pricing this year. "Ifmaterials pricing continues to increase you need to ensure that you can either optimize theway you do things or otherwise ensure that you get themargins you need to continue to be a profitable business," said Loof.


But there are ways tomitigate the high price tags such as by


working with supply chain partners, using different powders that may be a little cheaper, as well as improving yields and operational efficiencies.


The other good news is that there aren't any "alarming issues" for


ceramic capacitors, although some high capacitance/voltage parts are still on allocation or have long lead times.


Because of continued price increases for preciousmetals,


particularly palladiumand silver,which are used in ceramic capacitor production, prices have risen about 10 to 20 percent last year. And for those suppliers like Vishay that exclusively use preciousmetal electrode systems,materials costs have significantly impacted pricing.


"We could be entering a time when prices for passive


components, especially since they tend to be very rawmaterials- based, will continue to rise," said Valletta. "We've been in an industry where prices go down every year but wemay be starting to see the beginning of a change in that."


What can buyers do? Smart buyers aremaking sure they secure


supply and have their requirements covered by contracts. They also are working closely with suppliers tomitigate some of those rawmaterials costs.


Vishay, for example, has been trying to get some customers to


think about adding contract clauses that state if the price of tantalumgoes up X amount, price will go up X amount. The same would hold true if the price goes down.


"We've tried to have clauses that protect both of us.We don't


want tomakemoney onmetals butwe don'twant to be hurt by it either sowe put a clause in the contract that allows the price to go up if themetal price goes up and price to go down if themetal price goes down," said Valletta. "But customers have a difficult time


24 |March 2011 Resurgence ofmetallized filmcaps


Capacitormakers are pleasantly surprised to see a resurgence of metallized filmcapacitors thanks to the emerging alternative energymarket. Thesemature devices are known for their robust electrical and self-healing properties. As a result, some capacitor makers including Kemet and Vishay are beefing up their filmlines tomeet some of this green demand.


Valletta saidmetallized filmcaps have seen a resurgence in


applications such as alternative energy programs and electric vehicles "that need this kind of high capacitance, high voltage and high stability."


"That's where some of our investments are going into," said Loof.


"When you get to very high temperatures and voltages there really isn't any othermaterial that can handle that likemetallized film."


"There aren't asmany companiesmaking filmcapacitors as


there used to be so all of us have been trying to ramp up our equipment capacity and then you have themanufacturers of the films themselves who had also scaled down so they were caught short. So today that's the stumbling block," said Valletta.


One of Vishay's newest products for alternative energy programs


is its DC link filmcaps. The lead times for DC filmcapacitors stretched during the second


half of last year due to the rawmaterials shortage, Gonnerman said. Industry lead times for those are normally eight to 10weeks and currently lead times are around 24weeks and are expected to stretch further, he added.


Valletta noted that some filmparts are either on allocation or have lead times of about 30weeks.


www.electronics-sourcing.com


Vishay's TM8 surface-mount tantalumcapacitors feature very low DC leakage current and wide capacitance- voltage ratings in seven compact cases sizes for hi-rel applications including implantablemedical devices, medical instrumentation, andmilitary/aerospace systems


agreeing to that because they don't like that level of uncertainty so we haven't had too many customers take us up on it. They want to lock in a price and that's it."


However, some buyers would like to


negotiate longer termagreements but under these conditions it's difficult to do. "We were only doing quarterly agreements ourselves because ofmaterials costs," said Valletta.


"When you havematerials costs changing so


rapidly it's hard for a supplier to lock in a price for a long period of time. It's risky on both sides," he added.


A buyermay be able to use a different or newer part that uses


lessmaterial to keep costs down, said Valletta. "Sometimes the choice of the component can help with availability and keep costs under control."


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52