[News] CCL Market Tightens as Korea Import Prices Reportedly Rise 74.5% YoY; Suppliers Expand on AI Demand

AI-driven demand is surging across the supply chain, with copper clad laminates (CCL) also coming under significant strain. According to Hankyung, citing sources, a Seoul-based PCB maker placed advance orders worth KRW 10 billion with Taiwan’s EMC and TUC—more than five times its typical monthly usage—highlighting the severity of tightening supply across the market.

As the report notes, CCL prices are surging amid a pronounced supply-demand imbalance. According to data from the Korea Customs Service on the 3rd, cited by Hankyung, import prices reached $20,728 per ton in March, up 74.5% from $11,880 a year earlier—the first time since records began in 2000 that levels have exceeded $20,000 per ton. CCL is made by laminating a thin layer of copper foil onto an insulating substrate, making it a critical material in printed circuit boards.

One key factor behind the shortage is a shift toward higher-value products. The report explains that PCBs can be broadly divided into high-end substrates used in advanced GPUs and more general-purpose boards, with high-end applications requiring premium CCL made with T-glass. As demand shifts toward high-spec applications, constraints in these upstream materials are further tightening overall CCL supply.

According to TrendForce on Substack, glass fiber cloth—a key raw material for CCL—is a major cost component, alongside copper foil and resin, accounting for roughly 19%, 42%, and 26% of total CCL costs, respectively. TrendForce adds that the arrival of NVIDIA Rubin GPU is reshaping demand for advanced substrates and PCB materials. Compared to its predecessor, Rubin-based substrates feature significantly larger area and higher layer counts. The introduction of the Rubin LPX rack, a disaggregated system for inference, is expected to further drive consumption of high-end glass fiber cloth.

CCL Market Tightness Drives Price Increases and Capacity Expansion

Tight supply of CCL is pushing up prices across global suppliers. According to Economic Daily News, China’s leading CCL maker Kingboard issued a price hike notice on April 28. Prices for FR-4 CCL and prepregs (PP) will be increased by a further 10% effective immediately. Including an earlier adjustment in early April, this marks the company’s fourth price hike so far in 2026.

The wave of price increases began last year and shows no signs of easing in 2026. According to Economic Daily News, Japan’s semiconductor materials giants Resonac and Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company have raised prices by more than 30% across products such as CCL, bonding sheets, and copper foil resin sheets, with Mitsubishi Gas Chemical’s increase effective April 1.

Against this backdrop, capacity expansion is accelerating. Taiwan’s CCL suppliers Elite Material Co. (EMC) and Taiwan Union Technology Corporation (TUC) are actively ramping up output. As noted by Liberty Times, demand for high-end equipment from related machinery vendors has exceeded supply, with order visibility already extending to 2028.

Amid ongoing capacity expansion, South Korea’s Doosan Corporation plans to build a new CCL production facility in Thailand to meet rising demand from AI data center expansion. As noted by The Korea Herald, the investment is estimated at 180 billion won (US$121.7 million). Construction is set to begin within this year, with mass production targeted for the second half of 2028.

Read more

• 2026 Outlook: NVIDIA Rubin Drives New Wave of AI Hardware Upgrades
• Glass Fiber Cloth: The Underlying Material Shortage in AI Infrastructure
• [News] What Is Glass Fiber Fabric and Why Is T-Glass Critical for AI Servers? A Deep Dive

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