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[“Electronic Industry Rice” Prices Surge Tenfold, Market Fluctuates Dramatically] MLCCs (Multilayer Ceramic Capacitors) are known in the industry as the “rice of the electronic industry.” From small mobile phones and home appliances to large AI servers and new energy vehicles, almost all electronic devices rely on them. Recently, the component market has experienced extreme market divergence: AI-driven shortages and soaring prices of high-capacity models have led to some spot prices skyrocketing several times over; ordinary consumer-grade products have seen a surge followed by a decline. Behind this contrasting trend is the upheaval caused by the AI computing power wave. The market began to develop at the end of May. News of the explosive demand for AI computing power spread to the component market, with major overseas manufacturers shifting a large portion of their consumer-grade production capacity to high-end AI products. Market concerns about tightening supplies of conventional materials led to distributors stockpiling. Entering June, the spot market entered a state of frenzy, with prices changing daily or even hourly. Some popular models saw price increases of 7-8 times in just one month, with spot prices reaching 2-10 times their original price. By early July, spot prices had peaked and then quickly reversed course. Distributors who had stockpiled large quantities of goods earlier were releasing them, but weak demand from downstream consumer electronics end-users meant there was a lack of sufficient buyers, leading to a significant price correction for consumer-grade MLCCs. Merchant Chen Zhixiao cited the most common part number 0603-104 as an example: "This is the most commonly used part number among all capacitors. In the second quarter, 1,000 pieces cost around 5 yuan; at its peak at the end of June, it could sell for 30 yuan, but now it has fallen back to 10 yuan." (CCTV Finance)