The Zhitong Finance App learned that China Galaxy Securities released a research report saying that the compound annual growth rate of the PCB market related to AI servers will reach 18.7% in 2024-2029; with the upgrade of AI computing power chips, CCL will be upgraded, and the number of core PCB layers will increase accordingly. AI servers/data storage, network communication, etc. drive high multi-layer PCBs and HDI boards to maintain high growth. AI computing power chip upgrades and AI end-side products drive CCL and PCB upgrades. High frequency, high speed and low loss performance drive the upgrading of materials used in PCBs. Prices of related electronic cloth, copper foil, resin, etc. continue to rise, and CCL ushered in a sharp rise in volume and price.
The main views of China Galaxy Securities are as follows:
AI drives high growth in HDI and high multi-layer demand, and AI chip upgrades drive CCL and PCB upgrades
According to Prismark, the PCB output value in mainland China in 2025 was US$48.459 billion, or about 57% of the global PCB output value. The compound annual growth rate of the AI server-related PCB market will reach 18.7% in 2024-2029; among them, the compound annual growth rate of HDI related to AI servers is 29.6%, and the compound annual growth rate of AI-related multi-layer boards with 18 layers and above is 33.8%, far exceeding the average growth rate of the PCB industry of 8.2%. AI-related high-multilayer boards and HDI boards maintained high growth. According to Trendforce, the Nvidia Rubin platform uses fully upgraded materials to achieve low loss and low latency, including the Switch Tray using M8U grade (low-DK2+HVLP4) and 24-layer HDI board design, while Midplane and CX9/CPX import M9 (Q-Glass+HVLP4), and Midplane's ultra-high multi-layer PCB has 44 layers. With the upgrade of AI computing power chips, CCL has been upgraded, and the number of core PCB layers has increased. In addition, AI end-side products have surged in demand for high-multi-layer, high-frequency, high-speed, and high-density interconnect PCBs.
Increased demand pushes prices of steel foil, electronic cloth, etc. to continue to rise
In its 2025 performance forecast, Zhongyi Technology pointed out that thanks to the recovery in industry sentiment, the average processing fee price for copper foil products has risen. Copper Crown Copper Foil shows in its 2025 performance forecast that the increase in processing fee revenue has become one of the core drivers of profit improvement. On March 2, 2026, Telford Technology indicated that the company had already initiated a price increase on processing fees for products including HTE, RTF, etc. supplied by a leading copper clad plate manufacturer in the world. In addition to the increase in the price of copper foil, the price of electronic cloth has risen markedly since the third quarter of 2025. According to the Shanghai Securities News, in October and December 2025 and January and February 2026, ordinary electronic cloth has experienced four price increases, and the price increase cycle has been shortened from quarterly to monthly. China Jushi pointed out in its interim performance forecast that in the first half of 2026, demand in the main downstream application fields of glass fiber increased, and product volume and price increased sharply. Honghe Technology proposed in the interim performance forecast that demand in the terminal market increased in the first half of 2026, and the sales price of the company's electronic cloth products rose due to the influence of market supply and demand. In August 2026, the price of mainstream 7628 electronic cloth exceeded 10 yuan/meter. Improved industry demand is driving up the prices of raw materials such as copper foil and electronic cloth, and industrial chain companies have benefited greatly.
CLL's leading companies ushered in a sharp rise in volume and price
According to the Jin'an Guoji announcement, the 2026H1 copper-clad plate market continues to improve. The company's main products are in short supply. Sales volume has risen year-on-year, and sales prices have continued to rise, driving an increase in gross margin and an increase in the company's profits. According to Nanya's new materials, 2026H1, and continued to be affected by the explosion of AI computing power, the CCL industry as a whole is in a boom cycle, with tight market orders and strong demand side support; prices of core raw materials such as upstream copper foil, electronic glass fiber cloth, and resin are gradually rising, and the industry as a whole ushered in opportunities for a sharp rise in volume and price. New materials in South Asia simultaneously conduct the cost of raw materials, and the volume and price of the company's main products have risen sharply. CCL's leading performance has grown rapidly, and the industrial logic has gradually been implemented.
Risk warning: the risk that new orders and execution by PCB and CCL manufacturers fall short of expectations; the risk that AI chip demand and mass production fall short of expectations; the risk that the commercialization of AI applications falls short of expectations.