On July 6, Kingboard Laminates, a major manufacturer of PCB materials (copper-clad laminates), issued a price hike notice to customers. The company announced that, effective immediately for new orders, it would raise prices on select products by 10% to 15%.
The price adjustments cover four core product categories: FR-4 glass-fiber copper-clad laminates (1.3mm thickness and above) will increase by 15%; CEM-1 and 22F laminates by 10%; and all specifications of prepreg (PP) by 15%. Processing fees for copper foil will rise by 5 RMB/kg for weights under 1.5 oz and by 8 RMB/kg for 2 oz foil.
This round of price increases is primarily driven by steadily rising market demand, which has led to tightening supplies and sharp price hikes for key upstream raw materials such as glass cloth and copper foil.
Notably, according to a research report by China Merchants Securities, Kingboard Laminates had previously issued four consecutive price hike notices (with a cumulative increase of 53%).
In April of this year, industry reports indicated that Kingboard Laminates had raised prices across the board by 10% for all laminate sheets and prepreg (PP) materials, citing surging costs and supply shortages for core raw materials like resins and electronic-grade glass fiber cloth.
On May 27, Kingboard Laminates issued another notice announcing price hikes for its products (across all thicknesses), raising laminate prices by 10% and prepreg materials by 20%. The move was attributed to high copper prices, as well as the rising cost and tightening supply of glass cloth.
This latest adjustment in June comes just three weeks after the previous one, marking a clear acceleration in the pace of price hikes. Furthermore, the magnitude of the increase—reaching up to 15%—exceeded market expectations.
Industry analysts believe that this move by the market leader will prompt other domestic copper-clad laminate manufacturers to follow suit quickly, driving up the overall average price of base materials. The continued rise in the costs of upstream materials and copper-clad laminates is being passed down the supply chain to PCB manufacturers and, ultimately, to end-market electronic products. Domestic PCB manufacturers such as Shennan Circuits, Mulinsen, and Chongda Technology have already issued notices regarding PCB price increases, citing the same factors: soaring raw material costs and supply shortages.
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