Taiwanese chipmaking-materials supplier Nan Ya PCB jumped to its daily trading limit as substrate prices keep climbing — good news for substrate makers, bad news for chip customers facing higher costs.

• ABF substrate prices are expected to rise 18-20% in the third quarter, with demand outrunning supply.
• The squeeze comes from next-generation AI chips going into mass production and a shortage of the special glass fiber cloth used to make the boards.
• New US networking switches are also driving orders, and the bigger, thicker boards they need use far more material at higher prices.
• Nan Ya PCB's factories are running close to full, and its July revenue was the highest in almost four years.

Outlook: The shortage is not expected to ease before 2028, so substrate prices are likely to keep rising quarter after quarter.