Printed circuit boards, often referred to as the "mother of electronic products," are an indispensable core component in electronic devices. They are essential for the motherboards found in everything from household appliances to enterprise servers. Within AI computing infrastructure, PCBs also serve as an irreplaceable core hardware component.

This year, high-end PCBs have been in short supply, leading to continuously rising prices. Leading manufacturers have already secured orders scheduled through 2027.

AI Computing Demand Fuels Shortage of High-End PCBs

Since the beginning of the year, driven by the explosion in AI computing demand, high-end printed circuit boards have been in a state of supply shortage. Prices have been on a sustained upward trend, an impact felt across the entire industry supply chain.

Liu Qiming, the head of a motherboard manufacturing company, recently received multiple PCB price increase notices from various suppliers. Due to rising production costs, he has been forced to raise the prices of the motherboard products he sells. He indicated that the current boom in the PCB industry is primarily being driven by demand from AI computing.

According to Liu Qiming, the price increases started with high-speed PCBs, which are primarily used in high-performance computing server motherboards. The price surge for high-speed PCBs has far exceeded three to four times the previous levels.

Surge in Computing Equipment Orders Drives Concurrent Growth in High-End PCB Demand

The motherboard of an AI computing device is itself a multi-layer printed circuit board. The PCBs used in AI servers can have over 30 layers, with high-end products reaching 70 to 100 layers. The surge in orders for computing equipment directly fuels a corresponding increase in demand for high-end PCBs.

Subsequent visits to several PCB manufacturing plants revealed that their high-end PCB production lines are all operating at full capacity. A representative from one company stated that this situation has persisted for a considerable time. "From last year to the present, our overall production capacity has been fully loaded. It's quite difficult for customers to place rush orders now."

Shortage of High-End Copper-Clad Laminates Pushes Up PCB Production Costs

It is understood that high-end printed circuit boards have stringent requirements for production processes and raw material quality. The core base material for a PCB is the copper-clad laminate. Currently, high-end copper-clad laminates are in short supply, and their rising prices are pushing up the production costs of PCBs, thereby driving this round of price increases.

Wang Chen, Director of the High-Frequency High-Speed Copper-Clad Laminate Center at the International Headquarters of the Greater Bay Area National Innovation Center, explained that achieving greater computing power and faster communication requires the use of high-speed copper-clad laminates. "High-end copper-clad laminates are essentially being snapped up as soon as they are available."

Industry data indicates that global AI server shipments are projected to surpass 2 million units in 2026, representing a year-on-year growth of 55%. This is expected to directly drive demand for high-end PCBs to increase by over 110%. Furthermore, the PCB value per AI server is nearly ten times that of a standard server. Leading manufacturers have already locked in orders scheduled through 2027.