For organisations designing and manufacturing electronic products, the supply chain landscape continues to evolve. While our Q2 supply chain update highlighted early signs of tightening across components and PCB materials, the market has now moved decisively into a more constrained phase. This is being driven by structural demand growth, raw material shortages and geopolitical pressures that are reshaping availability through 2027 and beyond.
This update outlines the key factors influencing component availability, pricing and lead times, as well as our recommendations relating to what these developments may mean for the steps you need to take for projects scheduled through the end of 2026 and into 2027.
Across the PCB and semiconductor supply chain, availability is tight and pricing pressure is increasing. This is not the result of short‑term volatility, but a combination of sustained global influences, including:
AI infrastructure growth that is driving unprecedented demand for high‑speed laminates, thin glass styles, specialist prepregs and HVLP copper foil.
Raw material shortages, particularly glass fabric, epoxy resin and copper, are limiting production capacity for both standard and high‑performance PCB materials.
Geopolitical instability continues to affect oil pricing, resin production, trade routes and energy costs.
Manufacturers increasing inventory to protect customer deliveries is creating an artificial tightening effect, pulling more material out of circulation and accelerating shortages.
While standard PCB materials remain manageable today, the direction of travel is clear, the industry is shifting away from “on‑demand” supply and toward planned, allocated, forward‑committed procurement.
Over the past several months, the signals coming from upstream suppliers have become increasingly aligned in that laminate producers, glass fabric manufacturers and resin suppliers are all reporting sustained pressure across their operations. What initially appeared as isolated delays or selective price adjustments is now forming a clearer trend, one that suggests the PCB materials market is entering a more constrained cycle than we have seen in recent years.
As above shows, the shift is being driven by a combination of structural demand growth, raw material shortages and manufacturers increasing their own inventory levels to safeguard production. While standard materials remain broadly available today, the behaviour of the wider supply chain indicates that forward planning, early commitment and material flexibility will become essential as we move through 2026 and into 2027.
Upstream laminate and prepreg supply is now under sustained pressure. Several factors are converging:
Demand for high‑speed CCL is growing at more than 15% annually, driven by AI servers, data centre expansion and next‑generation networking.
Glass fabric, which is a critical input for PCB laminates, is currently one of the most constrained areas. An increase in demand around AI-focused K-fabric is a big contributor to this, with thin glass styles being deprioritised in favour of these materials.
HVLP copper foil remains tight due to similar AI demand reasons contributing to the glass fabric shortages, alongside limited global suppliers. Alongside this, copper processing fees are rising and epoxy resin costs have surged following the Middle East conflict driving up oil prices.
Thin prepreg continues to be dominated by Japanese and Taiwanese suppliers, with limited expansion plans. Thick prepreg capacity increases are already underway, but remain far short of demand.
While we are not seeing widespread disruption across all of the component categories, it's clear that several areas are tightening at a rapid rate. A key indicator of where areas are tightening is if there is a demand driven by AI, automotive or industrial systems.
We are seeing rising costs across components, materials and logistics, alongside increasing variability in lead times and allocation. It is important to recognise that pricing is only one part of the challenge. The greater risk often comes from production disruption caused by shortages or extended lead times.
To maintain continuity and reduce the risk of disruption, we are strongly encouraging our customers to adopt a forward-planning approach.
This includes reviewing upcoming builds earlier than usual, identifying components with potential supply risk and securing critical parts ahead of demand peaks.
Proactive planning is proving to be the most effective way to manage exposure and maintain production schedules.
Despite the tightening market, we are not currently experiencing major disruption to standard PCB materials, and we are working proactively to keep it that way. Alongside this, we are working closely with our customers to navigate these conditions and minimise risk.
Our team can support you by reviewing BOMs to identify potential exposure, advising on sourcing strategies and supporting forward planning.
Where appropriate, we can also procure and hold components on your behalf, helping to secure supply, manage pricing volatility and maintain continuity across your projects.
If you would like to discuss your requirements, please get in touch with our team today who will be happy to assist, or alternatively check out our PCB Manufacturing, PCB Assembly and PCB Prototyping services.