Hmm, but that would mean they give all that business to their competitors instead? or ar you saying there are basically only three manufacturers of MLCC caps?
The big three have >80% of the market volume ... the small guys don't have the volume to cope up with demand on the lines that are going out. They are fighting for 20% of volume between the 10 of them ...
The big guys just shut down their lines to use them to build much more profitable parts. 0.1uf is NOT a money winner... take it, you can have it. we'll build more lucrative parts. the smartphone market is stagnant and the fabs are headed where there is growth : automotive and energy.
Murata just invest 1 billion$ to convert their lines , and add 20% capacity ) to do automotive/energy only parts.
-snip- Murata Manufacturing plans to invest as much as 100 billion yen ($933 million) through fiscal 2019 to boost capacity for electronic components used in electric vehicles, seeking a fresh growth driver as the smartphone market plateaus.
The Japanese company will spend between 50 billion and 100 billion yen to expand ceramic capacitor production facilities in the western Japanese prefecture of Shimane and outside the Philippine capital of Manila. It aims to increase capacity by 20% with a focus on parts for electric vehicles. This would represent one of Murata's largest-ever investments in capacitors.
Ceramic capacitors are used in autos to adjust electrical signals from key parts such as motors and inverters and ensure they function properly. Automotive capacitors require greater durability than those found in smartphones. The nascent autonomous-driving field is expected to bolster demand.-/snip-