Kingboard Laminates Raises Prices by 15% for the Eighth Time in 2026, Copper-Clad Laminate Upcycle Continues
nashnova research
KB Laminates on Oct 13 hiked thin-cloth CCL and prepreg prices by 15%, its eighth increase this year; since August 2025, the company has raised prices 11 times, pushing cumulative gains past 2× — and the cycle is expected to run into 2027.
What went up, and by how much?
KB Laminates raised prices 15% on copper-clad laminates (CCL — the core base material of printed circuit boards) and prepreg (a semi-cured interlayer used in CCL production) made with 2116-spec and thinner fiberglass cloth. The new pricing applies to orders accepted from Oct 13.
This is the eighth hike in 2026. Since Aug 15, 2025, the company has raised prices 11 times, each by 10%–15%, with cumulative increases exceeding 2×.
This means → PCB makers' raw-material costs have more than doubled in just over a year. The pressure has shifted from a one-off shock to a sustained squeeze.
Why does thin-cloth pricing keep climbing?
The core driver is a supply-demand gap: AI and high-performance computing (HPC) applications keep expanding, and demand for thin fiberglass cloth far outpaces supply growth.
Standard E-glass cloth comes in three thickness grades — thick (7628), medium (2116), and thin (1080). Suppliers are shifting capacity toward premium thin cloth, squeezing mid- and low-end output. The result: 2116 and 1080 prices have risen far more than thick-cloth prices.
In plain terms = everyone is racing to make the thin, high-margin cloth, so thick-cloth capacity gets crowded out and thin cloth grows scarcer and pricier.
Demand is concentrated in AI, premium consumer electronics, advanced packaging, and optical modules — the hottest segments in the market right now.
Why can't supply catch up?
Expanding fiberglass-cloth capacity is difficult. Yield improvements take time, and lead times for key looms now stretch to 2030.
This means → even if manufacturers order equipment today, new capacity won't come online for three to four years. The tight-supply picture cannot ease in the near term.
This reflects a deeper signal: upstream equipment bottlenecks have effectively locked the entire supply chain's "relief date" to around 2030.
How long can the price upcycle last?
The market expects CCL material prices to keep rising through Q4 2026, with the overall upcycle likely extending into 2027.
Two premises underpin that view: fiberglass-cloth capacity bottlenecks cannot be broken within the foreseeable window, and AI-driven demand for thin cloth is still expanding.
Whether PCB makers can pass upstream costs downstream is the key variable ahead — successful pass-through sends pricing pressure along the chain; failure compresses midstream margins further.
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