Panasonic Industry Raises CCL & FCCL Prices Up to 30%

According to supply chain sources, Panasonic Industry issued a price adjustment notice to customers in August, announcing that prices for its full range of substrate materials will increase by 15% to 30% effective September 1. The adjustment covers six major manufacturing sites in Koriyama and Yokkaichi-Minami in Japan; Guangzhou and Suzhou in China; Taiwan; and Ayutthaya, Thailand.

The price increase is primarily driven by rising upstream costs. Copper foil processing fees and glass cloth prices have continued to climb, while costs for auxiliary materials, energy, logistics, and other manufacturing inputs have also increased. Panasonic Industry said it has attempted to absorb part of the cost pressure through higher production efficiency, operational improvements, and procurement optimization. However, the company indicated that the scale of raw-material cost increases has exceeded what it can reasonably absorb internally.

The adjustment varies by product category. Epoxy glass substrate materials for general multilayer boards, including copper-clad laminates (CCL) and glass-cloth resin laminates, will rise by 30%. Materials for semiconductor packaging substrates, including the LEXCM GX series except for two specified models, will also increase by 30%. CEM-3 glass composite substrate materials will likewise see a 30% price increase.

By comparison, low-transmission-loss multilayer board materials, including CCL and glass-cloth resin laminates in the MEGTRON and XPEDION series, will increase by 15%. Flexible copper-clad laminate (FCCL) materials will also rise by 15%.

The move comes just one day after Kingboard Laminates announced a 10% to 20% price increase across its products, citing tighter availability and higher prices for key raw materials such as glass fiber cloth and copper foil. The consecutive price increases announced by two major substrate-material manufacturers within just a few days indicate that the pressure may reflect broader supply-demand tightening rather than a temporary cost fluctuation.

For downstream PCB manufacturers, the increases are likely to put further pressure on procurement costs during the second half of the year and could eventually lead to higher prices for finished PCB products. Panasonic Industry said the new prices will be implemented on an ex-factory basis, with orders shipped from September 1 onward subject to the revised pricing, accelerating the transmission of higher material costs through the PCB supply chain.