Rising Demand for Copper Clad Laminates, Longest Delivery Time Requires 6 Weeks

Recent reports from South Korean technology media outlet TheElec indicate that as demand for artificial intelligence-driven printed circuit boards (PCBs) surges rapidly, the lead times for semiconductor substrate manufacturers to purchase copper clad laminates (CCLs) have expanded dramatically from approximately two weeks to a maximum of six weeks, an increase of nearly three times.

Glass Fiber Cloth in High Demand

The core contradiction in this supply crunch is centered around the CCL products based on T-Glass substrates. T-Glass, with its low dielectric constant (low Dk) and low coefficient of thermal expansion (low CTE) characteristics, is a key material for high-end semiconductor packaging substrates such as FC-BGA, FC-CSP, and ABF build-up films. It is also an indispensable underlying material for high-density packaging technology used in Nvidia's Blackwell series AI chips.

CCL manufacturers are prioritizing the limited production capacity towards high-value products like T-Glass, leading to further reduction in supply to ordinary PCB manufacturers. South Korean CCL buyers have urgently sought additional supplies from Taiwanese manufacturers such as Iteq and EMC, exacerbating the supply pressure on Taiwan's CCL industry.

Prices Continue to Rise

The synchronous increase in upstream material prices is another factor driving supply tension. Since December 2025, industry leaders such as Kingboard Copper Clad Laminates and other mainstream manufacturers have issued intensive price adjustment notices, with the largest weekly increase reaching 10% to 20%.

In April of this year, citing high copper prices and tight glass cloth supplies, Kingboard announced a price increase of about 10% for FR-4 CCLs and PP semi-cured sheets. The price of the core material 7628 electronic cloth has risen nearly 40% since the beginning of the year, and epoxy resin prices have increased by about 30% since March.

Mitsubishi Gas Chemical from Japan also increased the prices of its full range of products by up to 30% starting April 1, and material manufacturer Resonac announced price hikes from March, resulting in a comprehensive upward shift in global CCL supply chain pricing.

AI Computing Demand Drives Long-term Pattern

Institutional analysts have pointed out that the amount of CCL used for AI servers is 3 to 5 times that of traditional servers, and as the global AI computing infrastructure construction continues to accelerate, the demand for CCL has shifted from quantitative to qualitative change. Everbright Securities anticipates that the profit margin improvement from the excessive price increase of copper clad laminates will gradually be reflected in the financial statements of related companies starting from the second quarter of 2026, with price elasticity from the second quarter to the second half of the year still having the potential to exceed expectations.

The construction period for high-end CCL production lines is lengthy, ranging from 18 to 24 months, and the expansion lag, combined with high copper prices, is expected to continue the supply-demand "scissors gap" at least until 2027.

Industry insiders also warn that the shortage of CCL poses a transmission risk to the overall PCB and semiconductor supply chain. If the lead times for CCL are further extended, the production pace of PC motherboards, AI server cards, and advanced packaging substrates will face corresponding delays, and the scope of impact will spread from the material end to the terminal hardware delivery cycle.