[Hot Topic] Supply of Critical Semiconductor Material CCL Tightens: Japanese Manufacturer Raises Prices

May 27, 2026

The Nikkei newspaper, citing a report from a chip substrate supplier, reported that due to rising prices of methanol, xylene, and related solvents (essential raw materials for producing various resins), Japanese CCL supplier Mitsubishi Gas Chemical has raised prices for some products by 20% in the first quarter of 2026. The executive stated that given the overall increase in material costs, CCL prices are expected to rise further. Mitsubishi Gas Chemical has already issued two separate price increase notices for CCL and prepreg materials, each covering different product lines.

Prior to this, South Korean media reported that a PCB manufacturer in Seoul recently prepaid 10 billion Korean Won (approx. $7.6 million USD) to Taiwanese CCL manufacturers EMC and TUC. This amount is more than five times the company’s average monthly procurement of 1.5–2 billion KRW. A representative of the South Korean company said, "Due to concerns over CCL supply shortages, we placed a large order in advance, but now we have no idea when the goods will arrive." The representative added, "I’ve been in the PCB business for over 20 years, and this is the first time I’ve encountered a situation where we cannot produce due to a lack of CCL."

Background information shows that CCL material is primarily composed of three parts: copper foil, reinforcing material (commonly electronic-grade fiberglass cloth), and resin. The resin acts as a binder, combining the copper foil and reinforcing material while providing electrical insulation. CCL is manufactured through processes such as impregnation, drying, lamination, and hot pressing, offering conductive, insulating, and structural support functions, and is widely used in communication equipment, consumer electronics, automotive electronics, servers, and other fields.

In the semiconductor sector, CCL is a core material for chip packaging substrates, used to carry and connect chips to external circuits. In advanced packaging technologies such as flip-chip, 2.5D/3D packaging, and Chiplet, CCL must exhibit characteristics like low dielectric constant (Dk), low dielectric dissipation factor (Df), high thermal conductivity, and low coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE). Additionally, PCBs in semiconductor equipment rely on CCL as a base material. In scenarios like AI servers, high-speed switches, and 5G base stations, M7 to M9 grade CCL — through optimized resin formulations — supports 800G/1.6T high-speed links. During chip testing and verification phases, CCL is used to manufacture test circuit boards to simulate the chip’s real-world operating environment.

With the development of technologies such as AI, 5G, and the Internet of Things, CCL’s performance and supply conditions continue to draw attention from the industrial chain. The industry believes that the current price increases for CCL are driven by multiple factors: rising upstream raw material costs (copper foil, fiberglass cloth, resin), surging downstream demand from AI and high-speed communications, midstream capacity constraints coupled with long lead times for capacity expansion, and increased pricing power due to relatively high industry concentration.