AI demand tightens PCB laminate supply across Asia, North America and Europe
Demand from AI infrastructure is lifting prices and extending lead times for copper-clad laminates and other PCB materials. Asian suppliers are benefiting from stronger earnings and capacity investment, while Western manufacturers face higher procurement risks and costs.
Asian suppliers benefit from the squeeze
Artificial intelligence infrastructure is intensifying a shortage of copper-clad laminate, or CCL, and other printed circuit board materials. Elettronica News reports that buyers are encountering rising prices and longer delivery times, while Asian material producers are using the tight market to support margins, valuations and new capacity.
Chinese suppliers including Goldenmax International, Nanya New Material, Shengyi Technology, Wus Printed Circuit, Shengyi Electronics, Shennan Circuits and Wazam New Materials issued strong first-half guidance. Across 11 profitable companies, average projected net-income growth was between 269% and 342% year on year. Goldenmax expects profit of 730 million to 820 million yuan, attributing the increase to persistent shortages of CCL and prepreg. Shengyi Technology reported quarterly profit about 76% above the previous quarter.
Prices and capacity move higher
The pressure extends beyond China. South Korea's CCL import value reached $20,728 per tonne in March, up 74.5% year on year and above $20,000 for the first time since records began in 2000, according to Korean customs data cited by TrendForce. South Korea's Doosan has announced a new CCL plant in Thailand. Lotte Energy Materials plans to expand annual copper-foil capacity from 3,700 to 16,000 tonnes by 2027 to supply PCB manufacturers serving data centres and AI infrastructure.
The new investment is responding to a sharp increase in material intensity. Vexos says an AI server based on NVIDIA's Blackwell GB300 architecture requires 28 to 34 PCB layers using M7-grade ultra-low-loss dielectrics. The Vera Rubin platform, expected in the second half of 2026, will exceed 40 layers and require M10-grade materials. The average AI-server PCB rose from 18 layers in 2023 to 32 in 2025, a 78% increase. One AI server consumes five to seven times more CCL than a conventional server, while TrendForce expects global AI-server shipments to grow by more than 28% annually in 2026.
Western buyers confront longer lead times
Reuters reported that Goldman Sachs analysts recorded PCB price increases of as much as 40% in one month. A Daeduck Electronics executive said epoxy-resin lead times had expanded from three to 15 weeks. Copper represents about 60% of PCB raw-material costs at Victory Giant Technology, while copper-foil prices have risen by as much as 30% since the beginning of the year. Gatema also identified severe shortages of epoxy resin, glass fibre and copper foil.
Confidee Chief Operating Officer Raymond Goh said the disruption had spread from specialised high-frequency products to almost the entire PCB-material segment, including standard FR4. Delivery times for those materials increased from several days to about four weeks. For OEMs and PCB producers in North America and Europe, the immediate response is to approve alternative laminates, finalise stack-ups earlier and extend purchasing plans from weeks to several months. The imbalance gives Asian material suppliers pricing power, but raises production costs and continuity risks across the global electronics industry.