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Taiwanese media Commercial Times reports the region’s worst semiconductor supply shortages
1. HVLP4 copper foil
Demand is rising from Rubin upgrades and higher switch specifications. Supply is constrained by process difficulty and unstable yields, which keeps effective capacity below planned capacity. Prices have already increased around 5% to 10% and can move higher.
2. T-Glass fiberglass cloth
Supply is limited by capacity and yield constraints at key producers. Demand is being driven by advanced FCBGA substrates. Expected price increase is around 30% to 40% this year.
3. Low DK fiberglass cloth
Demand is rising for higher-performance AI and networking boards. Supply remains tight despite process improvements. Expected price increase is around 20% to 30% this year.
4. Drill bits for high-end PCBs
Higher-end PCB materials such as M8 and M9 reduce drill life to around one-sixth of traditional materials. That sharply increases drill bit consumption. AI-specific coated drill bits are priced around 20% to 30% above standard ones, and for boards above 7.5mm thickness they can cost more than 6x as much.
Topoint Technology (8021.tw)
5. ABF substrate inputs
Larger CPU and GPU packages are increasing substrate area and layer counts. Rubin substrates are around 75% larger than the prior generation and have reached 18 layers. That tightens upstream ABF-related materials and supports further price pass-through.
Unimicron (3037.tw)
Nan Ya PCB (8046.tw)
Kinsus (3189.tw)
Nitto Boseki (3110.T)
Taiwan Glass (1802.tw)
Elite Material (2383.tw)
Co-Tech Development (8358.TWO)
6. High-end PCB and substrate manufacturing capacity
The constraint is also in qualified production capacity. Not all suppliers can meet the process requirements, certifications, and yields needed for advanced AI carrier boards and substrates. The shortage is in both materials and manufacturing capability.
