PCB raw materials will continue to increase in price in 2021
PCB raw materials include copper foil, fiberglass, resin and other related materials have been reported of price adjustments in Q1 of 2021.Recently, from CCL factory to PCB factory, we have received notices about product price increase.Even PCB industry has fired the first shot, pointing out that the purchased high-end CCL materials have officially increased in price. The relevant supply chain industry confessed that the supply of PCB upstream materials will be very tight throughout 2021 under the unbalanced growth of supply and demand, and there will only be more and more cases of price increases.
Copper prices have soared in the past two months, and will exceed the $8,000 mark per metric ton at any time. The high-end reversal copper foil required for high-frequency and high-speed materials has caused various PCB and IC substrate manufacturers to raise prices and grab production capacity due to the scarcity and small scale of suppliers. In addition, there has been a surge in demand for electrolytic copper foil for electric vehicle batteries in the past, The supply of rolled copper foil required for extrusion to PCB may happen again in 2021.
In terms of fiberglass, only a few Japanese chemical material companies such as Nitto Boseki can supply. There was a fire in Nittobo in 2020, and the market demand may rise further in 2021, and the PCB supply chain may have to raise prices to grab goods.
The resin part has a similar situation, the same is that the expansion speed of high-end products cannot keep up with demand.At the same time, an accident happened to impact the operation of the production line.
On the whole, regardless of price changes, the tightness of upstream PCB materials is inevitable condition.
Chemical raw materials have always been the strengths of large Japanese factories, and many PCB raw materials are still imported from Japanese original factories, especially High-end materials. The relevant supply chain revealed that most Japanese chemical material companies are controlled by large consortia, and they often have to consider operating strategies and tend to be conservative when expanding production capacity. The adjustment flexibility is also relatively low, and the spread of the epidemic in Japan is likely to be more serious than the official announcement. The stability of the supply of Japanese chemical materials is also a big risk.
PCB manufacturers are unable to withstand the upward pressure of price increases from the raw material manufacturers. In order to ensure stable supply, they have to accept the cost transfer of the CCL factory and have no choice but to pass the cost to customers.
In addition, different applications and end customers will also determine the actual impact of price increases. For example, IC substrates that have recently increased by another wave usually face adjustments in upstream material prices. The entire upstream and downstream all the way to the end customers to discuss the cost transfer situation, as far as possible to reduce the damage of all levels of manufacturers from the price increase to the lowest.