Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1392944
12 PCB007 MAGAZINE I JULY 2021 terial. Wood prices have increased dramatical- ly because the crop yield is low due to issues around global warming. I don't know whether that's true, but that's the message. On the one hand, we have anti-dumping tariffs being implemented on aluminum ship- ments from Asia to Europe. On the other, the European guys can't keep up with the de- mand. We tried to buy aluminum in Europe, and there is a 22-week lead time. I can get it faster from China. e anti-dumping tar- iffs are a blunt instrument. ey hit things— the high-end things—that are manufactured in Europe and the U.S. ey also hit the low- end things that we want from China and then cause another roadblock to what we're trying to do. Feinberg: Everyone must start planning for price increases—as one person plans for it, the next person in the supply chain has to plan for cost increases as well. Because of this, you have to think about ways to reduce your oth- er costs so that your price increases don't go up as much as your competitor's. Otherwise, not only does your price go up, but your mar- ket share goes down. Goodwin: Here are some other things to consid- er. First, we started talking to the market about this back in December, and it's been happen- ing. e real start was the middle of 2020, with the real impact felt in Q4 2020, and it's just got- ten worse. China and Asia have been export- ers of deflation for 25–30 years, and for the next period, they will be an exporter of infla- tion. e price of rigid laminate is still, in dol- lar terms, around the price I was selling rigid laminate in 1995. at's not inflation-adjusted; that is in real dollars. So, to some degree, peo- ple need to get used to this. ere is a real re- set going on, and there will be a period of ad- justment until such time as supply outstrips demand again; prices will continue to rise and now is the time to think about it and factor it into your decisions. ing drums for copper foil, and the lead time for these drums is 18 months to two years. I'm sure they've got a lot of orders already from the guys that are building capacity for ultra-thin foils for batteries. And the foil guys want to make battery foil. It's five microns, it's nine mi- crons. It doesn't have treatment on the back. It's easy for them, and the [battery] guys are prepared to pay for it. Feinberg: I've been in this industry since the late '50s and I've been through probably three or four of these cycles. But this one may be just a little different. is time I'm seeing a conflu- ence of factors that are hitting us all at the same time. Johnson: What are these factors? Goodwin: In our business, the demand for PCBs is growing. e layer count in PCBs is going up, thus the need for more copper. Other in- dustries are demanding copper, but they're also demanding glass fabric. Wind turbines use glass fabric, and there's a lot of investment and government policy driving in that direction. ere's also post-pandemic logistics, which is still horrible, but I think it's the least of the worries. Prices for shipping goods from Asia to Europe are three to four times what they were pre-pandemic, and Asia to the U.S. is four times more. Happy Holden: Don't forget electric vehicles, which need 4-ounce to 12-ounce copper. Goodwin: ere's something like four times the amount of copper required in an electric vehi- cle compared to an internal combustion engine vehicle. is is just electronics, but there's de- mand outside of electronics for all these com- modities as well. Today, I got some things over my desk with regard to the price of wood, and you think, "What's wood got to do with print- ed circuit boards?" But wood is used in drill- ing printed circuit boards as a drill backup ma-