The market is seeing a scramble for materials, successive price hikes and capacity expansion drives, with a severe shortage hitting high-end electronic fabric.

According to Taiwanese media reports, there is a global shortage of high-end electronic-grade glass cloth, and Nanya Plastics has mobilized to support Nitto Boseki. On January 18, Nanya Plastics stated that after multiple rounds of communication and testing regarding the collaborative production of special glass cloth, operations have officially commenced recently. In addition to the mutually agreed production targets, the company does not rule out increasing output in the future based on market demand.

Industry analysts noted that as new-generation glass cloth products continue to develop toward higher layer counts and larger dimensions, the overall usage area for substrates has significantly expanded. This means that the demand for Low CTE (low coefficient of thermal expansion) glass cloth production capacity will continue to rise. Driven by both demand and costs, not only are glass cloth prices steadily increasing, but this trend is also expected to further drive up substrate prices. In the future, 20% of the special glass cloth supplied by Nitto Boseki will be produced with the assistance of Nanya Plastics.

In November last year, Nanya Plastics announced that it had established a strategic partnership with Nitto Boseki, a leading Japanese manufacturer of specialty glass fibers. The two companies will jointly expand production capacity to meet rapidly growing market demand.

According to the press release, in addition to collaboration on the production side, Nitto Boseki will also provide Nanya Plastics with a long-term and stable supply of key raw materials, including second-generation low-dielectric constant glass fiber yarn (NER). This will help strengthen Nanya Plastics' competitiveness in high-end copper-clad laminate (CCL) products and accelerate its entry into the advanced electronic materials market.

In its press release, Nitto Boseki noted that Nanya Plastics, a member of the Formosa Plastics Group, boasts globally leading glass cloth production capacity in its electronic materials business and is one of the world's key manufacturing hubs for glass cloth.

Severe Shortage of High-End Glass Fiber Fabric Emerges

As the AI wave expands, driving upgrades in PCB and CCL technologies, a severe shortage of high-end glass fiber fabric has recently emerged globally. According to foreign media reports, Apple has been forced into a battle for raw materials with tech giants such as NVIDIA, Google, and Amazon.

On January 14th, a leak from the X platform revealed that NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang recently visited Nitto Boseki in person to secure the supply of high-end glass fiber fabric required for its AI chips.

Tech media points out that the rapid growth in demand for high-end glass fiber fabric with low coefficient of thermal expansion is primarily due to its critical role in next-generation PCB materials. Low dielectric constant glass fiber fabric can effectively reduce signal loss and enhance high-temperature stability. Among these, T-Glass, characterized by its low coefficient of thermal expansion, can effectively prevent substrate warping during advanced packaging processes, significantly improving the yield and thermal performance of AI chips.

This shortage of glass fiber fabric materials has spread from the storage sector to electronic-grade glass fiber fabric. Moreover, the shortage of high-end glass fiber fabric is expected to persist until the second half of 2027, with related prices likely to continue rising.

Due to the extensive adoption of high-specification substrate materials by major companies such as NVIDIA, Google, and Amazon, the demand for advanced glass fiber fabric has surged. According to market analysts at Nanya Plastics, the supply and demand for the most advanced Low CTE high-end glass fiber fabric used in substrates are currently tight. Presently, the only supplier with "scale, technical capability, and superior quality" is Nittobo of Japan.

It is understood that Nittobo has initiated capacity expansion. However, the production scale-up for high-end glass fiber fabric used in AI chip substrates is progressing slowly and remains insufficient to meet demand, leading to a further deterioration in supply shortages.

In addition to Nanya Plastics announcing its collaboration with Nittobo, Taiwan Glass has also invested NT$2.25 billion to expand its high-end glass fiber fabric production lines from four to twelve. By 2026, its production capacity is expected to double, and its Low CTE products have already passed certification.

Currently, there are three major global manufacturers capable of producing Low CTE glass fiber fabric: Nittobo of Japan, Taiwan Glass of China Taiwan, and Taishan Fiberglass of Mainland China. Additionally, there are several smaller suppliers, including Grace Fabric Technology (GFT), Kingboard Laminates Group, and Unitika.

However, Nittobo of Japan holds over 90% of the global supply share. NVIDIA has consistently designated Nittobo as the exclusive supplier of Low CTE glass fiber fabric for its AI chips, as it is the only company that meets NVIDIA’s most stringent quality requirements. Nittobo raised the prices of its glass fiber products by 20% in the third quarter of 2025.

Furthermore, the impact of supply shortages has begun to ripple through the industry chain.

Due to tight supply and soaring prices of raw materials such as glass fiber fabric, Japanese semiconductor material manufacturer Resonac announced that it will increase the prices of printed circuit board (PCB) materials, including copper-clad laminate (CCL) and bonding sheets, by more than 30% starting March 1.

In response, Resonac stated that although the company has implemented various measures to reduce costs, it had no choice but to raise prices to ensure stable product supply and continue advancing new technologies.

In November 2025, the Electronic Materials Division of Nanya Plastics Corporation issued a price adjustment notice, citing collective increases in upstream raw material costs, including international LME copper prices, copper foil processing fees, and electronic-grade glass fabric. To ensure long-term and stable supply, the company decided to raise prices for its full range of CCL products and prepreg (PP) by 8% uniformly, effective November 20 (based on the delivery date).