The PCB market is becoming increasingly divided between conventional products and high-end AI-related applications
The most important development on September 26 is not a new industry-wide CCL price increase or a sudden shortage of standard PCB capacity. Instead, the latest data continues to confirm a more important structural shift: demand growth is increasingly concentrated in AI servers, high-speed networking, advanced packaging, HDI and high-layer-count PCBs.
According to industry data cited by the Taiwan Printed Circuit Association, the combined production value of Taiwanese PCB companies reached NT$279.1 billion in the second quarter of 2026, up 27.9% year over year. The growth rates differed significantly by product category. Multilayer PCB output increased 47.6%, IC substrate output rose 36.7%, and HDI increased 28.4%, while flexible PCB production grew only 1.3%.
This difference matters more than the headline growth number. It shows that the current PCB recovery is not evenly distributed across all product categories. AI servers, high-end networking equipment, HPC systems and advanced semiconductor packaging are creating much stronger demand for multilayer boards, HDI and IC substrates than traditional consumer electronics.
For PCB buyers, this means that market conditions can vary greatly depending on the type of board being sourced. Standard FR-4 double-sided and conventional multilayer PCBs may still benefit from broad manufacturing capacity and intense price competition, while AI server boards, high-speed networking PCBs and complex HDI products are increasingly exposed to tighter material requirements and more specialized production capacity.
AI is pushing PCB growth from higher volumes toward higher specifications
One of the most important changes in the PCB industry is that AI demand is not simply increasing the number of boards required. It is also increasing the technical value of each board.
AI servers, GPU systems, ASIC-based computing platforms and 800G or 1.6T networking equipment typically require more complex PCB structures than conventional electronics. These products often need higher layer counts, lower-loss laminates, tighter impedance control, more advanced via structures and stricter signal-integrity performance.
That is why multilayer PCB, HDI and substrate growth is significantly stronger than traditional flexible PCB growth.
From a manufacturing perspective, this shift changes the basis of competition. Factory floor space alone is no longer enough. High-end PCB suppliers increasingly need strong capabilities in multilayer lamination, precision drilling, material control, impedance management, registration accuracy, via reliability and stable mass production.
For procurement teams, this also changes how suppliers should be evaluated. Unit price remains important, but manufacturing capability, material availability, engineering support and delivery consistency are becoming more relevant for high-performance projects.
ABF substrates enter another upgrade cycle as AI packaging demand accelerates
IC substrates are one of the clearest beneficiaries of the AI hardware cycle.
TPCA and Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute have estimated that the global IC substrate market reached approximately US$14.75 billion in 2025, representing year-over-year growth of 18.5%. For 2026, global substrate production value is projected to rise to approximately US$19.51 billion, an increase of 32.3%.
The main drivers include AI servers, high-speed switching chips, GPUs, ASICs and advanced memory applications.
As AI processors continue to increase in package size and I/O density, ABF substrates are moving toward larger form factors, higher layer counts and finer interconnect structures. These developments increase manufacturing complexity and place additional pressure on advanced materials.
TPCA has also highlighted tight supply of key materials such as low-CTE glass fabric. New suppliers and new production capacity require lengthy qualification processes, which means material supply cannot always expand at the same speed as AI-related demand.
This is relevant even for PCB buyers that do not directly purchase ABF substrates. Advanced substrates, high-speed PCB and AI server boards can compete for some of the same high-performance glass fabrics, resins, copper foils and manufacturing resources. Continued substrate expansion could therefore influence the wider high-end PCB material market.
Thailand printed circuit exports jump 126.8%, showing that Southeast Asian PCB capacity is moving into real production
One of the most important new pieces of supply-chain data came from Thailand’s Ministry of Commerce.
Thailand reported exports of US$34.619 billion in August 2026, representing year-over-year growth of 24.3%. Industrial product exports increased 27.1%, marking the 29th consecutive month of growth.
More importantly for the PCB industry, Thailand’s official trade data showed that exports of printed circuits increased 126.8% year over year and had grown for 27 consecutive months. Major destination markets included China, Vietnam and the United States.
Other electronics categories also recorded strong growth. Exports of computers, equipment and components increased 42.1%, transformer and related component exports increased 55.6%, and electrical equipment and component exports rose 40.9%.
Thailand’s Ministry of Commerce specifically pointed to global investment in AI and digital infrastructure as an important driver of electronics demand.
For the PCB industry, this is a meaningful development. Over the past several years, PCB manufacturers from China, Taiwan, Japan and other regions have invested heavily in Thailand to diversify manufacturing capacity and support customers seeking alternative supply-chain locations. The latest export data suggests that part of this capacity is now moving beyond the construction and ramp-up phase into actual shipment growth.
This does not mean Thailand will replace China as a PCB manufacturing center. A more realistic interpretation is that the global PCB supply chain is becoming increasingly regionalized, with China, Taiwan and Southeast Asia playing different but complementary roles.
For international PCB buyers, this regionalization can provide additional sourcing flexibility, but it also introduces new considerations such as local material availability, engineering capability, origin rules, tariffs and logistics.
Copper remains near historically high levels, keeping PCB cost pressure elevated
September 26 is a Saturday, so there is no new international metals settlement price for the day. The most recent reference should therefore use September 25 trading data rather than presenting a fabricated “September 26 copper price.”
According to London Metal Exchange official prices for September 25, cash copper was quoted at approximately US$14,735 per metric ton, while three-month copper was approximately US$14,658 per ton.
The fact that spot copper remained above the three-month price indicates continued tightness in the physical market.
For PCB manufacturers, copper prices do not translate directly into finished PCB prices. The cost transmission path is more complex. Refined copper affects copper foil production, copper foil affects copper-clad laminate, and CCL then becomes part of the PCB manufacturing cost structure.
The impact also varies significantly by product type.
Heavy-copper PCBs, large-format boards, power electronics boards and high-layer-count server PCBs are generally more sensitive to copper costs because they consume more copper. High-speed boards face an additional issue because they often require low-profile or very-low-profile copper foil such as HVLP grades, meaning copper quality and availability can matter just as much as commodity copper prices.
This is why buyers should avoid assuming that a one-percent change in copper prices will lead to a one-percent change in PCB prices. The more useful questions are how long elevated copper prices persist, whether foil manufacturers increase processing charges, and whether high-end copper foil remains available within the required lead time.
Tin remains relevant to PCBA costs, but there is no new short-term pricing signal
Tin is another important raw material for the PCBA industry because it is widely used in solder paste, solder alloys and HASL surface finishing.
LME tin prices on September 25 were around US$54,050 per ton for cash metal and approximately US$54,250 per ton for three-month contracts.
However, the latest movement was relatively limited and there was no major supply disruption or official pricing event in the past 24 hours that would justify describing tin as a new PCBA cost driver.
For procurement teams, tin should continue to be monitored, but there is currently insufficient evidence to conclude that PCBA soldering costs are entering a new rapid inflation cycle.
No new industry-wide CCL, glass fabric or resin price increase was announced on September 26
As of the evening of September 26, there was no new global CCL price-increase announcement from major suppliers such as Panasonic, Shengyi Technology, Taiwan Union Technology, Nan Ya or Kingboard within the previous 24 hours.
There was also no sufficiently authoritative new pricing data showing a sudden industry-wide change in electronic-grade glass fabric or PCB resin prices.
This distinction is important because recent PCB industry discussions have included many references to material price increases, but some of these announcements were issued several weeks or months ago. Reusing those notices as if they were new daily developments would give buyers an inaccurate picture of the market.
The absence of a new price notice, however, does not mean that high-end PCB material pressure has disappeared.
The market remains clearly segmented. Standard FR-4 materials still benefit from relatively mature and diversified capacity, while low-Dk and low-Df laminates, advanced glass fabrics, low-profile copper foil and materials used in AI server and advanced packaging applications remain more sensitive to supply constraints and qualification cycles.
For buyers of high-speed PCBs, material availability is therefore becoming almost as important as quoted material price.
Automotive and consumer electronics are not experiencing the same AI-driven growth
Another important point from the latest data is that the AI boom should not be applied to every PCB end market.
Thailand’s August exports of automobiles, equipment and related components declined 7.1% year over year, while TPCA data showed that flexible PCB production increased only 1.3% in the second quarter.
This suggests that automotive, smartphone, PC and other traditional electronics markets are experiencing a very different demand environment from AI servers, high-speed networking and advanced packaging.
For PCB manufacturers, customer and application mix is therefore becoming increasingly important. Companies heavily exposed to standard consumer electronics may not experience the same order growth as suppliers focused on AI infrastructure, networking, semiconductor test equipment or advanced industrial electronics.
For business development teams, the strongest opportunities are currently more likely to come from data-center equipment, servers, power systems, high-speed networking, optical communication, semiconductor testing and advanced industrial electronics than from low-complexity consumer products.
Q4 PCB pricing will remain project-specific rather than moving in one direction
The current raw-material environment does not support the conclusion that all PCB prices will rise together in Q4 2026.
Standard double-sided boards and conventional multilayer FR-4 products still operate in highly competitive markets. By contrast, high-layer-count boards, HDI, low-loss PCB, AI server boards, heavy-copper products and projects using specified materials are more exposed to raw-material and capacity constraints.
This means PCB pricing is increasingly becoming project-specific.
For buyers, a better sourcing approach is to evaluate the actual material system and process requirements of a project rather than relying on a broad market statement such as “PCB prices are rising.”
If a design requires high-performance CCL, low-profile copper foil, tight impedance control or complex HDI structures, the project is more likely to experience price and lead-time sensitivity than a standard FR-4 design.
Material lead time is becoming as important as PCB manufacturing lead time
For many conventional PCB projects, buyers traditionally focus on one question: how many days does the factory need to build the board?
For advanced projects, that question is no longer enough.
If a board requires a specific high-speed laminate, specialty copper foil, low-CTE glass fabric or an approved material system, the actual delivery schedule may depend more on when the material arrives than on whether the PCB factory has open production capacity.
For this reason, procurement teams sourcing high-layer-count, HDI or high-speed PCBs should increasingly distinguish between PCB manufacturing lead time and material lead time.
Buyers should also confirm whether the specified laminate is currently in stock, whether qualified alternatives are available, and whether the quotation validity period reflects current material volatility.
This is particularly important for NPI and volume-production programs where an unexpected material delay can disrupt the entire project schedule.
What PCB buyers and manufacturers should watch over the next one to four weeks
The first variable is copper. If LME copper remains above US$14,000 per ton and the physical market continues to show tightness, copper foil and CCL producers may face continued procurement pressure.
The second variable is high-end material lead time. Low-CTE glass fabric, low-loss CCL and advanced copper foil remain important indicators for AI server and high-speed PCB supply.
The third variable is AI infrastructure capital expenditure. TPCA expects the global IC substrate market to grow 32.3% in 2026, but that forecast ultimately depends on continued investment in GPUs, ASICs, servers, networking equipment and data centers.
The fourth variable is Southeast Asian capacity utilization. Thailand’s 126.8% year-over-year increase in printed circuit exports is an unusually strong number. The next several months will show whether this reflects sustainable production growth or a temporary shipment surge.
The fifth variable is regional trade policy. As PCB manufacturers expand in Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries, rules of origin, local value-added requirements, tariffs and customer compliance standards will become more important parts of the sourcing decision.
JETFGO Industry View
The September 26 data supports a clear conclusion: the PCB market is not entering a simple industry-wide shortage or price-increase cycle. Instead, the market is becoming more segmented by application, material system and manufacturing complexity.
Standard FR-4 PCB capacity remains broadly available, while AI servers, high-speed networking, HDI and advanced packaging are increasing demand for higher-performance materials and more sophisticated manufacturing resources.
For PCB buyers, complete RFQ information is therefore becoming increasingly important. Providing Gerber files together with stack-up, board thickness, copper weight, impedance requirements, laminate specifications, surface finish and expected quantity allows manufacturers to evaluate both production feasibility and material availability more accurately.
For manufacturers, the opportunity remains substantial, but so does the technical challenge. AI-related PCB growth rewards suppliers that can control high-layer lamination, precision drilling, impedance, materials and reliability consistently from prototype through NPI and volume production.
The most important message from September 26 is therefore not that “PCB prices are rising.” It is that AI demand is changing where PCB growth occurs, Thailand’s rapidly expanding exports show that regional production is becoming commercially meaningful, and high copper prices continue to prevent material costs from returning to historical norms.
Heading into Q4 2026, PCB sourcing decisions will increasingly depend on the combination of technical capability, material control, lead-time stability and regional supply-chain resilience rather than unit price alone.
References
1. Taiwan Printed Circuit Association (TPCA) — “AI-Driven High-End Substrate Upgrade: Global IC Substrate Output Expected to Reach US$19.51 Billion in 2026,” September 10, 2026.
2. Central News Agency (CNA) — “AI Demand Drives Substrate Upgrade, Taiwan Maintains Leading Global Market Share,” September 26, 2026.
3. Thailand Ministry of Commerce — “Thailand International Trade Statistics, August 2026,” September 25, 2026.
4. London Metal Exchange (LME) — “LME Official Prices,” September 25, 2026.
5. Reuters — “Copper Nudges Up, Set for Weekly Gain on China Tightness,” September 25, 2026.