Downstream consumer electronics, 5G base stations, servers, cars and other demand has greatly increased, pulling the PCB industry chain into the business cycle. A few days ago, a reporter from the Financial Associated Press learned through research that due to the short supply of PCB, but the limited production capacity in the upper reaches of the industrial chain, the prices of materials such as copper clad laminate and copper foil continued to rise. According to 002288.SZ, the company's overall price of copper clad laminate has risen by 30% compared with the previous bottom, and the company's copper foil processing fees have also increased by about 30% to 40% last year. Relevant analysis points out that the demand for various products will burst in 2021, and the performance of the PCB industry chain is also expected to usher in a big year of growth this year.
The PCB industry chain is booming.
Although it mainly supplies low-end PCB boards to some small household appliance processing enterprises in Foshan and Zhongshan, the recent popularity of the industry also makes Mr. Zhang feel that business is good. The owner of a small factory who has been engaged in the PCB industry for more than 20 years has been stuck in the quagmire of the impact of the epidemic and has not yet extricated himself.
"We haven't raised the price for the time being, because most of them are previously signed, and the price has already been set. But the raw materials are rising, and the upstream supply is already very tight, even if we are willing to accept higher costs, it is not clear whether we can get the goods, "Mr. Zhang revealed." recently, everyone has been paying attention to the rise in the price of household appliances, in fact, it is true that raw materials, such as copper and plastic, including PCB--, no matter large or small household appliances, can not do without this board, so the price increase of household appliances is also a last resort. "
Taiwan's PCB leader Jian Ding revealed a few days ago that the lead time for PCB orders is usually two weeks to a month, but now we can see orders for the second quarter in January, and the visibility is very good. Mainland manufacturer 002916.SZ did not disclose specific product price information to reporters because it was in the "quiet period of the annual report", but the company recently said publicly on the interactive platform that "the company's raw materials include copper clad laminate, semi-cured sheet, copper foil, gold salt, dry film and ink, involving many categories. At present, the prices of some of the company's raw materials are facing a rise. At the same time, Shennan Circuit also revealed that its capacity utilization has been improved to a certain extent compared with the previous period.
Copper clad laminate is an indispensable material for PCB. Recently, a reporter from the Financial Associated Press learned through a number of copper clad laminate manufacturers that its price has increased a lot compared with last year, and the downstream demand is strong, and orders have been scheduled for the second half of the year. Chaohua Technology revealed in a survey a few days ago that the company's capacity utilization remained high, some product orders had been arranged until the first half of this year, and the overall price of copper clad laminate was up more than 30% from the previous bottom.
Copper foil is not to be left behind. Chaohua Technology revealed that due to the long ordering cycle of equipment, the output of copper foil is limited. In this case, many manufacturers have switched to lithium copper foil driven by the rapid development of the new energy industry, resulting in a large supply gap of electronic copper foil. The company's copper foil processing fees increased by about 30% and 40% last year.
Taiwan manufacturer Teng Hui recently told the media that recently, the main raw materials of copper foil substrate, such as copper foil, glass cloth, resin, etc., have increased by as much as 30%. It is reported that Teng Hui has adjusted the price in batches one after another, and it is estimated that the price adjustment will be completed in the near future.
Performance growth may exceed expectations
The substantial growth of downstream demand such as consumer electronics, 5G base stations and automotive electronics is the key factor driving the PCB industry chain into the price rise cycle. Chaohua Technology pointed out that since the second half of last year, with the outbreak of downstream markets such as 5G, new energy vehicles and energy storage, the entire PCB industry chain has ushered in a rise in volume and price. At present, the demand in the downstream market is still very hot, and the whole industry is still at a high level of prosperity.
The rise in the price of copper clad laminate is driven by both supply and demand. On the one hand, downstream demand is growing rapidly, on the other hand, effective supply, especially high-end products, has added little capacity in previous years, which does not match the growth rate of demand.
It is worth noting that after the layout and Xu Li in previous years, especially under the background that the novel coronavirus epidemic suppressed some downstream demand last year, the PCB market may usher in a concentrated outbreak this year, which will also become the biggest driving force for the entire industry chain to maintain the current economic situation.
China Merchants Securities Research News pointed out that since the gradual recovery of economic activity in the second half of last year, the demand of various major areas downstream of PCB laminates has entered a rapid recovery period, until the current uptrend is still continuing. In 2021, as the visibility of automotive plate demand is still high, consumer electronics demand is also supported by terminal sales growth, NB/ tablet innovation-driven demand growth, while 5G construction recovery and chip platform upgrade switching will also promote the recovery of Datong high multilayer plate market. In the context of economic recovery, the multilayer laminate market is expected to usher in a big year of growth in 2021.
According to the Soochow Securities Research report, 5.2 million macro base stations are expected to be built in China from 2020 to 2025. Combined with the market of small base stations, the domestic PCB market driven by 5G construction is expected to reach 55 billion yuan from 2020 to 2025.
This will also boost the demand for copper foil and copper clad laminate for PCB, especially high-performance copper foil-as it is still monopolized by foreign manufacturers, domestic substitution will usher in a broad space for replacement in the next few years.
According to the public information disclosed earlier, Shennan Circuit vehicle PCB has entered the customer camp such as Bosch Group, ZF, BYD, Great Wall Motor and so on. As a result of the PCB level upgrade driver of communication products, as one of the few local manufacturers that can produce multi-layer PCB, Shennan Circuit will also benefit. Shengyi Electronics (688183.SH), which has just landed in the capital market, plans to expand production capacity with Changshu Shengyi as the main body, and the new project plans to expand production of 11.4 million square meters of high-performance copper plate and 36 million meters of bonded sheet, which is positioned as high-end products in the field of HDI. Chaohua Technology also revealed to reporters that at present, the company also continues to make high-end products, RTF copper foil for 5G communications has achieved mass production, VLP copper foil has been small-scale production. In addition, the first phase of the copper foil industry base built in cooperation with the Yulin government has an annual output of 50, 000 tons of electronic copper foil and 10 million pieces of high-end core panels, and has also officially started construction at the end of February.
