PCB industry update, October 2026: record sales, substrate plans, dearer materials

The printed circuit board industry entered the last quarter of 2026 with record sales at the large Taiwanese makers, new investment in package substrates by Asian and European makers, and material costs still rising. This update gathers what was published between 1 September and 16 October 2026, region by region, from company filings and announcements, industry associations and the trade and business press. Every figure is as the source gives it, in its own currency.

Key points

• Four of the largest Taiwan-listed board makers, Zhen Ding, Unimicron, Tripod and Compeq, reported record monthly sales for September: Zhen Ding's NT$26.36 billion was 36.1% above September 2025,^[1] and Unimicron's NT$18.65 billion was 64.7% higher.^[2] The Taiwan Printed Circuit Association expects Taiwanese-owned output to pass NT$1 trillion for the first time in 2026.^[3]
• Package substrates drew the largest commitments: Samsung Electro-Mechanics plans 6.78 trillion won for capacity in Sejong and Vietnam,^[4] Shinko is buying a former display plant in Japan,^[5] and AT&S named Marvell as the customer behind its expansion in Kulim, Malaysia.^[6]
• Material costs kept climbing. Kingboard raised laminate and prepreg prices by 15%, its eighth increase of 2026,^[7] and LME copper reached an intraday record of US$14,875 a tonne on 10 September.^[8]
• In North America, PCB shipments in August were 23.5% above a year earlier and the book-to-bill ratio stood at 1.29, while bookings fell 35% on the year after a strong July.^[9]
• Demand split by end market: TrendForce raised its 2026 forecast for AI server shipments to 32.2% growth,^[10] while third-quarter smartphone shipments fell 20% on the year as memory prices rose.^[11]

Asia

Taiwan: record September sales

Taiwan-listed companies publish their sales every month, which makes them the first hard reading of the industry each month. September 2026 sales of the largest board makers, and of the leading laminate maker, were:

Zhen Ding's September sales were a monthly record.^[1] Unimicron credited new capacity and a better product mix.^[2] Tripod's September sales were also a record, and its third-quarter sales passed NT$30 billion for the first time.^[12] Compeq attributed its record to low-earth-orbit satellite and US smartphone boards.^[13] Gold Circuit Electronics was the one large maker with lower sales than in August, though still 55.5% above a year earlier.^[14] Nan Ya PCB^[15] and Kinsus^[16] grew by more than 40% on the year. Elite Material, which makes the copper-clad laminate many of these boards are built on, more than doubled its sales on the year.^[17]

The Taiwan Printed Circuit Association (TPCA) reported that Taiwanese-owned makers, counting their plants at home and abroad, produced NT$279.1 billion of boards in the second quarter, 27.9% more than a year earlier. It expects output for 2026 as a whole to reach NT$1,136.5 billion, up 24.2%, the first year above NT$1 trillion.^[3] Kinsus filed to buy 49,990 square metres of land in Taoyuan for NT$6.0 billion for future capacity,^[18] and the TPCA Show opens in Taipei on 20 October with more than 680 brands.^[19]

Mainland China and Hong Kong

Kingboard Laminates raised the price of laminate and prepreg made with style 2116 or thinner glass cloth by 15% on 13 October, its eighth increase of 2026.^[7] Two Chinese board makers turned to Hong Kong for capital. Shenzhen Kinwong Electronic raised about HK$5.1 billion in a listing that began trading on 29 September, to expand capacity and fund overseas development.^[20] Suzhou Dongshan Precision, described as the world's third-largest PCB supplier by revenue with a 4.2% share in 2025, is seeking up to US$3 billion in a Hong Kong share sale.^[21]

Japan

Shinko Electric agreed on 30 September to buy Japan Display's Mobara plant in Chiba as a new core site for flip-chip package substrates, and to pass the western part of the site to the board and substrate maker FICT.^[5] Panasonic raised its prices for PCB materials for the second time in 2026, extending the increases to laminate, prepreg and IC substrate materials.^[22] Nittobo, a supplier of low-expansion T-glass cloth, said again that demand had outrun the pace of its capacity expansion; Taiwan Glass's sales rose 34.1% on the year on shipments of low-Dk glass cloth.^[23]

South Korea

Samsung Electro-Mechanics will invest 4.27 trillion won in FC-BGA substrate capacity in Sejong, with mass production from September 2028, and 2.51 trillion won in package substrate equipment in Vietnam; customers will fund part of the new facilities.^[4] Simmtech entered the FC-BGA market with a "Slim FC-BGA" made on its existing FC-CSP lines.^[24] At the KPCA Show in Incheon in September, Samsung Electro-Mechanics showed glass substrates and substrates for AI servers.^[25]

Southeast Asia and India

Thailand's Board of Investment fast-tracked a 4.44 billion baht expansion of ShuCan's printed circuit board assembly plant in Rayong, part of a batch of 17 approvals.^[26] In Malaysia, AT&S is fitting out a second plant in Kulim for IC substrates,^[6] and TTM Technologies plans to expand its plant in Penang.^[27] In India, electronica India and productronica India drew 793 exhibitors and 52,411 visitors to Bengaluru in September, with a PCB technology conference run with ELCINA.^[28]

The Americas

The Global Electronics Association, formerly IPC, reported that North American PCB shipments in August were 23.5% above a year earlier, and 15.5% higher for the year to date. Bookings fell 35% on the year and 78% from July, which the association read as a pause after several months of strong orders; the book-to-bill ratio was 1.29.^[9]

TTM Technologies announced US$400 million of further investment on 12 October to expand four plants in China and its plant in Penang, mainly for boards used in AI infrastructure, on top of a US$1.2 billion commitment for 2025 to 2029.^[27] It also completed the US$1.1 billion purchase of Epiq Solutions, a maker of defence radio and space computing products.^[29] In Canada, Firan Technology Group reported third-quarter revenue up 34.3% and bookings up 75%, and said many orders carried price premiums for faster delivery.^[30] PCB West in Santa Clara reported a sold-out exhibition and conference registrations up 60%.^[31]

Europe

AT&S named Marvell Technology as the additional customer behind the expansion of its Kulim site, under a long-term agreement for advanced IC substrates.^[6] Cicor, a Swiss electronics manufacturer, grew third-quarter revenue by 6.7% and said growth had been held back by shortages, in particular of printed circuit boards and memory chips.^[32] European electronics manufacturing services companies reported a book-to-bill ratio of 1.21 in the first half of 2026.^[33] electronica 2026 runs in Munich from 10 to 13 November with about 3,500 exhibitors.^[34]

Africa

No new board fabrication was reported from Africa in the period. The region's link to the industry this month ran through raw materials: Zambia's 10% export duty waiver on copper concentrate was due to expire on 30 September as Konkola Copper Mines restarted its Nchanga smelter.^[35] In Ghana, the University of Professional Studies opened a laptop assembly plant whose short courses include printed circuit board training.^[36] A South African supplier reported that components are now allocated rather than priced, as capacity is prioritised for AI infrastructure and large accounts.^[37]

Australia

NCAB Group, the Swedish PCB supplier, agreed to buy IMP Electronics Solutions of Adelaide, a supplier with sales of about AUD 9 million in its last financial year, for AUD 4.0 million plus an earn-out.^[38] The Australian government's Office of the Chief Economist recorded LME copper at more than US$14,700 a tonne in early September and expects an average of US$13,570 in 2027.^[39] No new board fabrication in Australia was reported in the period.

Materials and demand

Copper set an intraday record of US$14,875 a tonne on the LME on 10 September and an official cash price of US$14,741 on 14 October.^[8] Laminate makers passed on costs: Kingboard with its eighth increase of the year,^[7] Panasonic with its second.^[22]

TrendForce expects the nine largest cloud providers to raise their capital spending by 106% in 2026 and AI server shipments to grow 32.2%.^[10] Counterpoint Research recorded a 20% fall in third-quarter smartphone shipments, the lowest third quarter since 2012, as memory prices rose.^[11] Electric vehicle sales fell 2% in September: Europe set a monthly record while North America fell 44%.^[40] Boards for AI servers, the main source of growth at the Taiwanese makers above, therefore carried the industry while phones weakened.

What to watch

The TPCA Show in Taipei runs from 20 to 22 October,^[19] and electronica opens in Munich on 10 November.^[34] Dongshan Precision's Hong Kong offering could take place as early as October.^[21] The regional picture behind these numbers is set out in Thailand's PCB build-out and The world PCB market in 2026.

Data and method

This update covers material published from 1 September to 16 October 2026 and opened on 16 October 2026. Monthly sales of Taiwan-listed companies are taken from their reports as published in the Taiwanese financial press; percentages are those reported, rounded to one decimal place. Figures are in the currency each source uses and are not converted. Items were included when a primary source or an established publication reported them; where a company is described by a third party, as with Dongshan Precision's market share, the description is attributed. Coverage is uneven by region because reporting is: Taiwan publishes monthly, while no board fabrication news was found for Africa or Australia in the period.