I was reading through ITEQ’s Q&A and found a few interesting comments: 1. “It is clear that glass-fiber fabric prices are rising, and we still expect a double-digit increase in the second half.” 2. It is uncertain how long the rise in glass-fiber prices will continue. From ITEQ’s perspective, however, we also need to consider that the large Chinese glass-fiber manufacturers we work with are pursuing very aggressive capacity-expansion plans. 3. If ITEQ can increase its use of glass-fiber fabric supplied by these Chinese manufacturers, it may not feel the Nittobo supply shortage as acutely as it does today. 4. Analyst: “Still, aren’t Nittobo’s supply shortages and price increases positive for CCL makers such as ITEQ?” ITEQ: “From a pricing perspective, yes. Nittobo has the broadest and most mature portfolio of high-end glass-fiber fabrics, giving it sufficient bargaining power to raise prices. Chinese fabric suppliers, however, are also expanding capacity aggressively and improving their technology. Whether they can actually reach the Low Dk 1 and 2 levels remains to be proven. Even so, the fabric shortage across the CCL industry is currently so severe that ITEQ plans to qualify and utilize as many Chinese suppliers as possible.”

Daiwa expects prices for copper-clad laminate (CCL), the base material for AI server boards, to rise again in Q4 2026, with increases of about 10% for high-end grades and 20% for low-end grades. Those hikes would follow increases of roughly 100% for low-end CCL and 40% to 50% for high-end grades in 2026, the broker estimates. September revenue at Elite Material (2383 TT), Taiwan Union Technology (6274 TT) and ITEQ (6213 TT) came in 5% to 15% above expectations. Elite Material’s revenue rose 169% year over year to NT$21.5 billion. Management attributed about half of the month-on-month increase to higher prices and the rest to product mix. It did not rule out another price increase in Q4. Daiwa also says concerns that PTFE and co-packaged optics (CPO) could hurt high-end CCL demand are overdone. PTFE is still undergoing qualification and is used in only a few layers of some high-end boards. Elite Material expects CPO adoption around 2030 and says CPO switch boards would still use at least M6-grade CCL, even in a worst-case scenario.

Some updates on bottleneck timelines: - ABF substrates: 1 year / eg. Ajinomoto (2802) for ABF film, Ibiden, Unimicron, Nan Ya PCB, etc make the substrates - HDI Boards: Over 6 months / Victory Giant (300476), Zhen Ding (4958), Unimicron, Compeq (2313), Meiko (6787) - Multilayer boards: ~6 months / Victory Giant, WUS (002463), $TTMI, Gold Circuit Electronics (2368), - CCL: Over 6 months (severe shortages of materials) / Elite Material (2383), Shengyi (600183), TUC (6274), ITEQ (6213), Nan Ya Plastics (1303), Resonac (4004) Mitsui Kinzoku (5706) / HVLP copper foil. Nittobo / glass fiber/cloth - MLCCs, chip resistors, tantalum capacitors, aluminum electrolytic capacitors: 15-20 weeks to 1 year+ MLCC: Murata (6981), Samsung Electro-Mechanics, TDK (6762), Taiyo Yuden (6976), Yageo (2327), Walsin (2492) Chip Resistors: Yageo, Walsin, KOA (6999), Rohm (6963) and $VSH Tantalum capacitors: Kyocera/AVX, Yageo/KEMET, $VSH again Aluminum electrolytic capacitors: Nippon Chemi-Con (6997) Nichicon (6996) | Timelines sourced from Digitimes, did the honors of adding in related companies. But it's slightly more nuanced since MLCCs and others mix. in commodity types vs. AI DCs. Regardless, just some helpful mapping.