The Impact of the AI Boom on PCB & Raw Materials Supply Chains

The message is clear cost & prices are rising as demand eats capacity – so is now the time to secure your supply chain for key materials?

A quick look at the PCB industry news channel and it is plain to see that there Is a well documented boom in demand for high-end materials for AI, but the impact of the trickle down effect is often overlooked. 

The Shift from "Concept" to "Performance": This is the most critical point. The AI infrastructure build-out is no longer theoretical; it's a tangible, capital-intensive project with real purchase orders. This is creating a step-change in demand, not just a cyclical uptick.

The "Trickle-Down" Effect on the Broader PCB Market

Capacity Crowding-Out: As raw material suppliers, CCL manufacturers and PCB fabs re-tool and allocate their best production lines to high-margin AI server boards, what happens to the supply for automotive, industrial, and even consumer electronics? We are already seeing price increases and lead-time extensions there as well, due to reduced available capacity.

Competition for Raw Materials: The high demand for copper and resins for AI servers directly competes with other sectors like electric vehicles (EVs) and renewable energy infrastructure, creating a broader inflationary pressure on these commodities.

• The trickle down effect is already evident (particularly in EMEA), with significant supply chain restructuring and availability profiles for key materials and consumables worsening, as suppliers switch capacity to meet demand for higher value, higher margin materials to support the AI boom.
  
  
• Copper foil suppliers indicating a switch production from HTE to VLP foils.
  
  
• Glass yarn and fabric suppliers restricting standard e-glass availability as they switch production to low Dk yarns and fabrics.
  
  
• Major laminators closing production sites that focused on FR4.1 materials and massively increasing prices to discourage continued purchasing from other sites.
  
  
• Incumbent producers with no equivalent FR4.1 product offering leaving a significant availability gap.
  
  
• Major laminate producers discouraging customers from purchasing mid & high Tg materials by offering long lead times and large double digit price increases.
  
  
• Principles of major EMEA laminate distributors indicating to customers that they do not wish to fill the hole in supply chains for mid technology applications.
  
  
• Drill & Router manufacturers with extended lead-times for standard tools, as they meet the demands for high performance tools for high aspect ratio drilling.

Demand up strongly

• Because of the massive build-out of AI computer infrastructure (servers, high-end GPUs, data centres), the demand for PCBs and upstream materials is rising, not just more units, but more sophisticated ones (higher layer counts, bigger boards, more copper, advanced substrates).   
  
  
• Specifically the material supply chain for PCBs—substrates (e.g., low-CTE fibreglass), advanced copper foils, low Dk glass fabrics and high grade resins—is under pressure from this surge. 
  
  
• One source states: “The demand for PCBs in AI servers has transitioned from ‘concept’ to ‘actual performance’… This trend directly catalyses an explosion in PCB and upstream materials demand…”.   

Price and lead-time increases

• With demand rising and supply capacity not keeping up, especially for the more advanced materials, lead-times have lengthened significantly: from typical 8-12 weeks to 20-30 weeks in some cases.   
  
  
• Raw material cost pressures: e.g. copper, resins, glass fabrics and high-end laminates are seeing price upticks. -  “Raw materials like copper, epoxy resins, glass fabrics … are often subject to supply chain disruptions.” 
  
  
• Another source says “Copper prices have breached the $10,000 mark, gold prices remain high, and chemical costs are climbing… sweeping through the PCB … supply chain.”

Key materials / segments stressed

• Copper: A fundamental conductor in PCBs, and its shortage and price rises ripple through to materials and printed circuit board cost.   
  
  
• High-performance substrates/laminates: Especially for AI hardware with high power, high layer count boards. These speciality materials are harder to scale quickly. 
   
• Resins, glass fabrics and advanced copper foils: Materials with specific thermal/electrical/CTE/rigidity/layer-count performance requirements are all in high demand.

What this means for pricing & market

• Because of the supply tightness and rising material costs, manufacturers of PCBs are facing higher input costs.
  
  
• The market segment for “server/high-end PCBs” is expected to grow with a higher CAGR (some sources show double-digit growth) compared with traditional consumer PCBs. That means more demand for specialised (and more expensive) raw materials.   
  
  
• Longer term, unless supply capacity (mining, refining, material fabrication) is expanded, these cost pressures are likely to persist. 

Risks & considerations

• Supply-chain bottlenecks: Scaling new materials (e.g., high layer count substrates) takes time (equipment, qualification, certification).   
  
  
• Volatility in commodity markets: Materials like copper are subject to broader commodity cycles, mining constraints, geopolitical issues. 
   
• Sub-segment sensitivity: The biggest price pressures are for the most demanding applications (AI server boards) rather than simpler PCBs. But the cost impact cascades and has impact across the board.
  
  
• Sourcing & inventory strategies: Some companies are shifting away from “just-in-time” to strategic inventory of 45-60 days in some materials to hedge supply risk.   

Mark Goodwin
Ventec International Group Nov 2025
With credit to ChatGPT & Deepseek