Corning Raises Glass Prices as AI Packaging Expands
According to Corning, the global display glass leader will raise prices for display glass substrate products denominated in Japanese yen by 15% or more worldwide starting in the fourth quarter of 2026. Corning cited the sharp depreciation of the Japanese yen and rising inflation-related costs as key factors behind the adjustment. Major panel manufacturers, including TCL CSOT, BOE, and HKC, have also reportedly issued pricing adjustment notices to customers.
Corning said the continued depreciation of the yen against the U.S. dollar, combined with higher costs for key raw materials, precious metals, energy, and logistics, has made it increasingly difficult to absorb rising expenses internally. Industry expectations suggest that Japanese glass manufacturers such as AGC and Nippon Electric Glass (NEG) could also adjust their prices.
Meanwhile, television panel manufacturers are maintaining high production rates. Average capacity utilization among TV panel makers is expected to remain around 90% in the third quarter. With Chinese manufacturers accounting for approximately 70% of the global LCD TV panel market, pricing dynamics within the display industry have continued to shift.
Beyond pricing competition in the mature display market, glass substrates are emerging as a promising new technology for advanced semiconductor packaging. As AI chips continue to increase in size, traditional organic substrates face warpage challenges caused by their relatively high coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), while silicon interposers remain constrained by high manufacturing costs.
Glass substrates offer several potential advantages. Their CTE is approximately 3.2 ppm, providing a closer thermal match with silicon chips. They also offer nanometer-level surface flatness and signal loss that can be two to three orders of magnitude lower than silicon in certain applications. In addition, glass substrates can potentially be manufactured using panel-level processing, enabling larger-scale production.
Market research estimates that the global glass substrate market could grow from approximately $9.03 billion in 2024 to $16.81 billion by 2032. Industry development is expected to progress gradually, with pilot production lines targeted for 2026, small-batch commercial production expected in 2027–2028, and penetration potentially reaching around 30% by 2030.
Major semiconductor and advanced packaging companies, including TSMC, Intel, and Samsung, are actively developing glass substrate technologies. TSMC has also been working with Japanese substrate manufacturer Ibiden and Taiwan-based Innolux to evaluate the feasibility of incorporating glass substrates into its CoPoS advanced packaging technology.
Across the supply chain, Corning, Schott, and AGC continue to play major roles in supplying glass materials. In midstream substrate manufacturing, BOE's glass-based packaging substrate pilot line reportedly achieved fully automated production-line integration in September, while Taiwan-based WPG Holdings has established a TGV production line and begun small-batch shipments. Japan's DNP holds patented technologies related to semiconductor-grade microvia metallization and interface treatment.
As TGV (Through-Glass Via) technology continues to mature, Taiwan-based equipment companies, including Tisen, Topco Scientific, LEO, Scientech, Gudeng Precision, and Scientech-related process equipment makers, are also entering the glass substrate and TGV processing market. As the industry moves from pilot production toward mass-production lines during 2026–2027, equipment orders are expected to become an important driver of investment across the emerging glass substrate ecosystem.
