Market evolution: Multilayer ceramic capacitors (CN 853224) — 2015–2025

Introduction

This report analyses the European Union's trade in multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) classified under customs code 853224 over the period 2015 to 2025. MLCCs are critical components in nearly all modern electronics. The analysis reveals a decade defined by substantial growth in trade values, a profound structural shift in the EU's import dependency, and significant volatility in global supply chains. While EU exports also expanded, the market became increasingly characterized by a widening trade deficit, rising import prices, and a growing reliance on a concentrated set of Asian suppliers, raising questions about strategic autonomy in a vital technology sector.

1. The Widening Trade Deficit: Growth Fueled by Rising Import Prices

Over the period, the EU's trade deficit in MLCCs more than doubled in value, driven predominantly by a surge in import costs rather than a proportional increase in physical volumes. This highlights a market where the EU's demand is inelastic, absorbing significant price increases.

• A deficit that doubled in value: The EU's trade deficit (exports minus imports) in value terms widened from -€584.5 million in 2015 to -€1.11 billion in 2025, an increase of 90.1% (General Overview).
• Imports: value soared while volume fell: The total value of EU imports from non-EU countries grew by 91.9%, from €729 million to €1.40 billion. In stark contrast, the physical quantity imported fell by 21.7%, from 8,847 tonnes to 6,929 tonnes (General Overview).
• The price effect: This divergence is explained by a massive 145.0% increase in the average unit price of imports, which climbed from €82,367 per tonne to €201,832 per tonne. This reflects global supply constraints, increased demand for high-specification components, and inflationary pressures across the electronics supply chain (General Overview).

The following table summarizes the key changes in EU trade flows for MLCCs between 2015 and 2025:

2. Restructuring of Global Supply Chains and Market Concentration

The EU's import sources underwent a dramatic restructuring, moving away from the UK and towards a cluster of East and Southeast Asian economies. Concurrently, the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI) indicates the import market became slightly less concentrated by value, suggesting a diversification of suppliers within Asia.

• The rise of Asian suppliers: Japan remained the largest single import partner, with its share growing by 71.2% to €536 million. The most dramatic increases, however, came from the Philippines (+925.5% to €142 million), South Korea (+368.5% to €159 million), and China (+189.0% to €243 million) (General Overview).
• Decline of the United Kingdom: Imports from the UK collapsed by 91.0%, from €116 million to just €10 million. This is a likely consequence of Brexit, which introduced new trade barriers and disrupted integrated supply chains between the EU and the UK (General Overview).
• Export market diversification: EU exports became more distributed. The Netherlands emerged as a major exporter, growing by 490.8% to €106 million, while exports to traditional partners like the UK stagnated. Significant growth was also seen in exports to Mexico (+381.5%) and Morocco (+408.0%) (General Overview).
• Concentration dynamics: The import HHI by value decreased from 2,448 to 2,108, moving from a moderately concentrated market towards a more competitive one. This is explained by the strong growth of secondary suppliers like the Philippines and Malaysia, diluting the shares of the top players (General Overview).

3. Heightened Vulnerability and Strategic Dependence

The combination of rising prices and shifting supply sources has significantly increased the EU's net import reliance, exposing vulnerabilities in its electronics manufacturing base. Domestic production data, where available, suggests a possible contraction in EU output volumes.

• Net import reliance doubled: The EU's net import reliance for MLCCs (measured as net imports divided by domestic availability) surged from 32.2% in 2015 to 67.3% in 2025. This indicates that nearly two-thirds of the MLCCs used in the EU are now sourced from outside the bloc (Autonomy & Vulnerability).
• Intensifying trade focus: The trade intensity index rose from 62.8% to 105.3%, showing that MLCC trade is growing faster than the EU's overall trade. Even more pronounced was the export propensity, which leapt from 32.8% to 122.8%, indicating that EU-based production (including by foreign-owned firms) is increasingly oriented towards re-export (Autonomy & Vulnerability).
• Evidence of supply chain volatility: Price shocks were detected in key bilateral relationships. Notably, a price shock in imports from the UK in 2021 (abnormality score 144.9) and a price shock in exports to Israel in 2022 (abnormality score 360.5) underscore the turbulence in the market during the post-pandemic period (Volatility & Shocks).
• Specialisation and production signals: Within the EU, Germany (RCA 2.32) and Czechia (RCA 2.43) show a revealed comparative advantage in MLCC-related exports. However, EU production data suggests a dramatic 99.0% decline in reported quantity (from 86.5 billion items to 0.9 billion items) and a 37.6% fall in value, which could indicate a reporting change, a consolidation of production, or a genuine strategic shift away from commodity-grade capacitors (Market Structure).

Conclusion

Between 2015 and 2025, the EU's market for multilayer ceramic capacitors transformed profoundly. The bloc became far more dependent on imports, with the cost of that dependency rising sharply due to global price inflation and supply chain disruptions. The departure of the UK from the single market catalyzed a rapid reorientation of EU import sourcing towards Japan, South Korea, China, and Southeast Asia. While this may have diversified suppliers geographically, it also deepened the EU's strategic ties to a region of high geopolitical sensitivity. The doubling of net import reliance to over 67% presents a clear vulnerability for the EU's broader industrial and technological sovereignty agenda. Moving forward, the balance between leveraging global supply chains for cost efficiency and investing in domestic or "friend-shored" production capacity for this critical component will be a key challenge for European policymakers.