Current situation of PCB upstream materials

【PCB Information Network】News 

Some time ago, CINNO reported that the demand for printed circuit boards was frozen in the third quarter, and both major PCB manufacturers, copper foil substrates and upstream material manufacturers carried out strict destocking in the third quarter. 

Now in the fourth quarter, how is the current situation of PCB, copper foil substrate and other upstream material industries?

Copper Clad Laminate (CCL)

This year, facing the huge challenges of the macro environment, the CCL industry is under pressure at both ends of the operation, and at the same time, it is also facing the situation of high energy prices. Many CCL companies say that the order situation is not as good as last year. The second half of the year is generally the traditional peak season for consumer electronics, but this year, under the influence of inflation and the Russian-Ukrainian war, there are obvious signs of economic recession in Europe and the United States, and the consumer electronics industry is likely to experience a lack of peak season. However, CCL is the basic material of electronic circuits, the industry concentration is high, and the big companies have a strong voice. Recently, some plate manufacturers have reported price increases.

According to the analysis of industry insiders, the price of copper clad laminates fell periodically in the first half of the year and the gross profit rate fell, but the periodical low point of the industry has passed, and the recovery of demand in the second half of the year is expected to drive performance improvement.

Some institutions also pointed out that leading companies such as Kingboard Laminate may reverse the gross profit of a single sheet while ensuring their own order volume as the prices of bulk commodities drop, thus bringing about the opportunity of performance reversal and exceeding expectations. The fundamentals are reversed, and the penetration of high-end products in related fields such as packaging substrates, servers, Miniled, high-frequency high-speed, and automobiles can improve the company's valuation level.

Epoxy resin

In September, the price of epoxy resin was mainly due to the increase of raw material bisphenol A, and the price of liquid and solid epoxy resin both rose by about 1,500 yuan/ton, an increase of 8.4%.

Copper price

After September, due to the interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve and concerns about the outlook of the global economy, copper prices fluctuated in a range. In mid-July, the copper price fell below 53,500 yuan/ton, and then began to rebound continuously. Analysts believe that with the intensification of supply disturbances in the fourth quarter and the recovery of the domestic economy, copper prices are expected to continue to rebound in stages.