Followed Kingboard CCL price increasement, Nanya, ITEQ, EMC etc. copper clad laminate manufacturers also issued notice of price increasing in mid-August. Later, copper foil industry set off a wave of price increases, large and small CCL manufacturers all increase their prices.
Let us look at the reasons for the price increasing of copper foil:
1. Over the past few years, copper foil overcapacity with long-term downturn in copper prices, some copper foil manufacturers were forced to close plant or cut production capacity. The supply exceeds demand of electronic-grade copper foil in recent years, and the price related with price of copper commodities downturn, copper foil production capacity continues to decrease.
2. The past two years, domestic and global lithium industry and new energy automotive industry is fast growing, triggering a shortage of raw materials. As we all know, copper foil in lithium batteries work as negative carrier and negative collector, an important material to lithium battery.
Since 2015, with the rapid development of electric vehicle industry, lithium ion power battery industry also showed explosive growth in 2015. China's new energy vehicle sales are expected to reach 700,000 in 2016, make twice as much in 2015. Accompanied by the lithium battery with copper foil also showed an explosive grow trend.
3. From the demand side, ushered the electronic tradition boom season in the second half year, in which the growth of automotive electronics is vigorous, resulting in the growth of demand for PCB copper foil, copper foil production less than demand also makes price increases possible.
4. Copper foil production process is more difficult than the copper clad laminate and printed circuit board process, it has the highest industry concentration in PCB supply chain.
As one of the most important raw materials of PCB, CCL accounts for about 40% of the PCB cost, which has the greatest impact on the cost of PCB. While copper foil is the largest proportion of the cost of CCL, charge about 30% of the cost of normal copper thickness CCL and 50% of heavy copper thickness CCL, so copper foil prices is the main driving force of the price of CCL.
Copper foil prices rise trend, will inevitably bring enormous pressure to the PCB industry, PCB manufacturers is facing the problem how to deal with it.
1. PCB industry market is downturn this year, but in July began to recover, circuit board factories should seize this opportunity to continuously upgrade quality, improve yield and reduce costs in order to break through the difficulty.
2. PCB factories should stop price war, create a good competitive environment. Through the healthy competition between enterprises continuously enhance their overall strength to improve product quality.
