Following an overall increase in sheet prices in March of this year and triggering follow-up adjustments by many manufacturers, Jiantao Laminate, a leading copper-clad board company, issued another price increase letter. The reason for the price adjustment was rising copper prices and full orders.

Analysts believe that Jiantao's price increase is expected to trigger other manufacturers in the industry to follow suit.

According to the price increase letter, due to the main raw material for copper-clad sheets, the price of copper has risen sharply, and customers have recently stocked up a lot. The company's production capacity was fully filled in May. Due to cost pressure, the price of related sheets will increase by 5-10 yuan/sheet starting today.

According to information, the main raw materials for copper-clad sheets include copper foil, resin, and fiberglass cloth. Among them, copper foil accounts for the highest cost. The rise in copper prices directly affects the production cost of copper-clad sheets.

“The rise in raw material costs, especially the sharp rise in copper prices, is putting cost pressure on copper clad plate manufacturers. In this case, Jiantao Group's price increase can be seen as a direct transmission of rising costs. Furthermore, in order to avoid the risk of future price increases, some customers have recently increased their stocking volume, which has prompted them to lock in production capacity in May ahead of schedule when production is at full capacity.” Li Shu, an analyst at the Toubao Research Institute, said. From the perspective of industrial recovery, Li Shu believes that Jiantao Group's price increase reflects the recovery in the electronics industry's prosperity, especially in the PCB manufacturing sector. The increase in downstream market demand is driving up the operating rate of PCB manufacturers.

Market analysts believe that strong demand for AI, high-speed networks, and automotive systems will continue to support the growth of high-end HDI, high-speed high-rise, and package substrate segments, and bring a new growth cycle to the PCB industry.

China Merchants Securities released a research report saying that since the beginning of the year, downstream demand has continued to pick up, PCB operating rates have generally improved, while upstream main material prices have continued to rise. Some manufacturers in the CCL industry have already raised prices for the first time in March-April. Recently, upstream copper prices have risen sharply, and copper foil processing fees are also on the rise. Electronic glass fiber cloth manufacturers have restoratively raised product prices, and midstream copper clad plate (CCL) manufacturers have also begun issuing downstream price increase notices to ease cost pressure. Currently, downstream demand is picking up and the upward trend in upstream commodity prices remains unchanged. PCB manufacturers increase raw material inventory preparations, all of which are expected to drive the CCL industry into an upward channel of price increases, and profit levels continue to recover.

PCB sector related companies: Jiantao Group (00148), Jiantao Laminate (01888)