Why Your PCB Quote Went Up: Laminate Price Hikes Explained

Prepared by the NextPCB content team · Last reviewed October 19, 2026

If your latest PCB quote came back higher than the one you received last spring, the cause is probably not a quoting mistake. Kingboard Laminates, a leading copper clad laminate (CCL) maker, issued its eighth price-increase notice of 2026 on October 13–14, and Panasonic, Nan Ya Plastics and others have also raised laminate prices this autumn.

But a laminate price rise does not turn into a PCB price rise one-for-one. This guide shows what changed, what share of a board’s cost laminate typically represents, why quotes lag the headlines, and what to check before you place your next order. Every figure is linked to its source, and where numbers conflict or only analyst estimates exist, we say so.

What changed: the 2026 laminate price notices

Most notices below were issued by suppliers selling into the China market. The figures come from press reports of those notices; we have not seen the supplier letters themselves.

Table 1. Kingboard Laminates price notices in 2026

Two counting notes. First, a Tonghuashun tally lists 12 Kingboard rounds since February 2025, so “eighth” refers to 2026 only (source). Second, Cailian reports that compounding the rounds puts thick FR-4 (1.3 mm and above) at more than 100% up this year; that figure does not apply to every laminate or thickness (source).

Kingboard is not alone:

Table 2. Other laminate suppliers

Why prices keep climbing

• Glass cloth is the pressure point. Citi’s figures show main cloth styles rose 17%–18% in August alone, and 118%–165% year to date (Cailian). In October, 7628 rose RMB 1.5 per meter and the thin 2116 and 1080 styles RMB 2.5 per meter, as confirmed by leading cloth makers (Cailian). In early September, 7628 traded at RMB 11.5–12.1 per meter (Securities Daily).
• AI hardware is pulling capacity away from ordinary cloth. Cloth makers told China Securities Journal that weavers are shifting ordinary-cloth capacity toward specialty cloth for AI products, which tightens supply of the ordinary grades (Cailian).
• New supply is slow. Makers say new cloth capacity takes about 18 months to build, most is expected by the end of 2027, and none at scale is due before the end of this year (Cailian).
• Copper foil is the largest input to laminate. One industry-research summary splits laminate cost into copper foil 42.1%, resin 26.1% and glass cloth 19.1% (Stockstar, published 2025). Kingboard’s July notice added copper-foil processing fee increases. Those shares move with prices, so treat them as a guide rather than a current breakdown.

How much of your board’s cost is laminate?

The same Stockstar summary puts raw materials at about 60% of PCB cost, with laminate roughly 30% of the total. Your own board can differ. Boards with a small laminate share are affected differently from those with a large one. That gives a simple rule of thumb:

Table 3. Illustrative arithmetic only — not a quote or a forecast

How to read it: +15% is the size of the October round and the June and July rounds; +30% is the largest rate in Panasonic’s September notice; +100% is the compounded 2026 increase reported for thick FR-4 and is an upper bound, not an average. The 40% row is an illustrative case, not a sourced average.

For a reality check, press reports say communications and automotive customers accepted PCB price increases of 20%–30% from July, with some tight-supply orders above 40% (Economic Observer via Tonghuashun). Those figures sit inside the range above, but they also reflect other cost pressures, so don’t read them as a laminate-only effect.

Why your quote doesn’t move the day a notice is published

• Older contracts delay the pass-through. Press reports say that during the first half, PCB makers with long-term supply arrangements could not pass higher material costs on, which squeezed margins. Some now price new orders on the material cost at delivery time (Xinhua Finance).
• Triggers differ by supplier. Panasonic’s new prices apply to products shipped from September 1 (Jiemian), while Kingboard’s October notice applies from the date an order is accepted (Sina Finance). The date a purchase order was placed may therefore not decide which price applies.
• Supply is rationed, not just priced. In tight markets, material can be allocated as well as repriced. Our raw material shortage guide covers allocation in more detail.

Is your board exposed? A quick self-check

Match what is on your fabrication notes and stackup to the notices above:

We did not find notices for metal-core or ceramic materials in this review. That is not proof they are unaffected.

Six things to do before your next order

1. Ask which material lines changed. A useful question is what share of a price change relates to laminate, copper foil, gold or manufacturing, because boards with different material mixes are affected differently. Also confirm the board specification itself did not change.
2. Get the price trigger and validity in writing. As Table 2 shows, a price can apply from the shipment date or the order-acceptance date. Ask which one governs your order and how long the quote holds.
3. Pre-approve alternates before you need them. Ask your fabricator in advance which approved materials it may substitute, and agree the conditions in writing. If a substitution is proposed, re-check impedance and reliability first; our impedance calculator and FR-4 grade comparison are a starting point, and our material selection guide explains the main laminate categories.
4. Share a rolling forecast. Even an informal one helps your fabricator plan material, as we outline in our shortage guide.
5. Plan around the calendar. Allow extra time around holiday periods such as Chinese New Year, and confirm lead times in writing before you commit to a launch date.
6. Run a DFM check before release. Catching a material or stackup issue before production is cheaper than finding it after. You can start with our online Gerber viewer, and our PCB cost guide lists the other factors that move a quote.

What to watch next

• More increases are possible. Citi expects Kingboard to raise prices by about a further 10% in November or December, and says thick 7628 products could eventually follow if cost pressure persists. These are analyst forecasts, not announcements (Futu News).
• Relief looks distant. Cloth makers expect most new capacity only by the end of 2027, so near-term relief looks unlikely.
• Near-term signals. Watch for new price notices from laminate makers and for whether the further increases analysts expect actually arrive. We will update this page when the next notice is confirmed.

FAQ

Will my PCB price rise by the same percentage as the laminate?

No. Board cost moves roughly by the laminate share of cost multiplied by the laminate price change, so a 15% laminate rise on a board where laminate is about 30% of cost adds about 4.5%. Other cost items and your order details also matter. See Table 3.

Does Kingboard’s 15% increase apply to all FR-4?

No. The October notice covers laminate and prepreg made with 2116-or-thinner glass cloth, and the company told reporters thick-cloth products were not raised in this round (Tonghuashun). Earlier 2026 rounds had different scopes; see Table 1.

How many price notices has Kingboard issued?

Eight in 2026 according to press reports, and 12 since February 2025 in one outlet’s tally. Different outlets start counting at different dates, which is why you may see different ordinals.

When will laminate prices ease?

Nobody can say for certain. Cloth makers expect most new capacity only by the end of 2027. Analysts quoted above expect further increases first.

Should I switch to a cheaper laminate to save money?

Only after an engineering review. A different laminate or prepreg can change impedance, loss and reliability, so confirm the effect on your design before you approve a substitution.

Sources and how this article was prepared

This article was prepared on October 19, 2026 from press reports, analyst notes and supplier-notice summaries. We did not obtain supplier letters directly. Figures describe supplier list-price changes and market reports, not NextPCB quotes, and analyst forecasts are included for context only, not as investment advice. External sources are linked with nofollow. Some DIGITIMES pages are paywalled, and for those we cite only what the visible text states.

• DIGITIMES: Kingboard Laminates raises thin-cloth laminates, prepreg prices 15% in eighth hike of 2026, Oct 14, 2026 (headline only)
• DIGITIMES: Kingboard Laminates raises prices again as CCL shortages deepen, Aug 31, 2026 (paywalled; lead paragraph only)
• SMM: Kingboard raises prices on FR-4 and PP prepreg, Aug 28, 2026
• DIGITIMES: Panasonic reportedly raises CCL and PP prices again as IC substrate costs jump 30%, Sep 2, 2026 (paywalled; lead paragraph only)
• TrendForce: CCL market tightens as Korea import prices rise 74.5% YoY, May 6, 2026
• Sina Finance (First Financial report): Kingboard’s eighth price-increase notice, Oct 14, 2026
• Tonghuashun: fact-check on Kingboard’s eighth increase and the 12-round tally, Oct 14, 2026
• Futu News: Citi note on Kingboard’s October increase, Oct 14, 2026
• Gelonghui via Tencent News: Kingboard timeline, Aug 28, 2026
• Tencent News: Kingboard’s July 6 notice details, Aug 28, 2026
• Cailian: Kingboard’s seventh increase, Aug 28, 2026
• Jiemian News: Panasonic price notice effective Sep 1, Aug 28, 2026
• Xinhua Finance: PCB price pass-through and other suppliers’ increases, Sep 24, 2026
• Taiwan News: Taiwan CCL makers begin new price rounds, Resonac and Panasonic increases, April 2026
• Cailian: glass cloth October increase and capacity timing, Oct 12, 2026
• Securities Daily via Tonghuashun: glass cloth prices, Sep 15, 2026
• Cailian: Citi glass cloth price data, Sep 14, 2026
• Stockstar: PCB and laminate cost structure, 2025
• Economic Observer via Tonghuashun: PCB price acceptance since July, Oct 14, 2026