【Industry】Korean PCB Manufacturers Panic-Buy Copper Clad Laminates as AI-Driven Supply-Demand Imbalance Intensifies

June 25, 2026

In early May 2026, a printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturer in the Seoul metropolitan area placed pre-order contracts worth 10 billion Korean won (approximately 50 million RMB) with two Chinese copper clad laminate (CCL) suppliers—more than five times its normal monthly usage. The company's CEO stated that this move was driven by concerns over supply disruptions, noting that delivery times can no longer be confirmed and that this is the first time in over 20 years in the industry that his company faces the risk of production halts due to CCL shortages.

Currently, CCL lead times are generally extended, with some high-end products lengthening from the original 2–4 weeks to over 6 weeks, leading to early order locking and excessive inventory building. According to data from the Korea Customs Service, the average import price of CCL in South Korea rose by 74.5% year-on-year in March 2026, reaching its highest level since 2000.

CCL is a foundational material for PCB manufacturing, essentially the "highway foundation" of electronic products. AI servers, switches, optical modules, and liquid cooling systems place higher demands on PCBs, driving downstream PCB manufacturers to accelerate capacity expansion. However, upstream CCL capacity expansion lags behind, with factory construction cycles taking 18–36 months, involving resin, copper foil, electronic fabrics, and high-end precision equipment—making it difficult to respond quickly to surging demand in the short term.

AI-related PCBs require 3–5 times the usage volume of traditional servers, keeping CCL supply and demand persistently tight. Major global manufacturers have been raising prices intensively: Kingboard Laminates announced on April 28, 2026, a 10% price increase across its entire FR-4 CCL and PP prepreg product lines—its third price hike of the year and second in April alone, with cumulative increases exceeding 40%. Taiwan Union Technology raised prices on high-end CCL by 20%–40%. Elite Material Co. and Iteq raised prices on high-end materials by 10% starting in Q2. Mitsubishi Gas Chemical raised high-end CCL prices by 30% effective April 1. Panasonic announced 15%–30% price increases across its entire series starting in May. Domestic Chinese manufacturers such as ShengYi Technology, Nanya New Materials, and Jinan Guoji have also followed with 10%–15% price increases.

Upstream materials are equally tight: high-end electronic fabrics (such as Type 1080) have been in short supply since 2025, with the shortage spreading to standard specifications in 2026. Honghe Technology's Huangshi subsidiary has less than 10 days of inventory. High-end copper foil is constrained by monopoly control of core overseas equipment, limiting capacity expansion. High-end resin is in tight supply while standard resin is in surplus, creating a dumbbell-shaped structure across the industry chain.

Shanxi Securities Research Institute in China points out that AI-driven demand for high-end CCL is highly sustainable, and the supply-demand tightness is expected to persist through 2027 or even longer. If price increases continue at the current pace, a CCL sheet originally priced at around 100 RMB will exceed 400 RMB after seven rounds of 10% increases—approaching the historical price surge level seen in fiber optic products. Although heightened market expectations bring volatility risks, real demand from AI hardware continues to grow, and the underlying industry logic has not fundamentally reversed.