IPC International Community magazine an association member publication
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70 I-CONNECT007 MAGAZINE I APRIL 2026 • Sharp growth in value density, with Goldman Sachs projecting the AI server PCB market to expand from approximately $3 billion in 2024 to over $25 billion by 2027, and CCL demand growing even faster off a smaller base • Higher-layer PCB designs, driven by inte- grated AI rack architectures such as NVIDIA's VR200 and VR300 platforms • Architectural shifts, where PCB backplanes and midplanes increasingly replace tradition- al copper cabling • Supply-side constraints, giving pricing power to suppliers capable of producing high-end CCL and advanced PCBs This front-loaded investment cycle is reshaping competitive dynamics across the PCB value chain. Southeast Asia: Capacity Moving at a Cost Across Thailand, Vietnam, and Malaysia, PCB in- vestment announcements continue to accelerate: • Victory Giant Technology acquired APCB Thailand in 2024 rather than building a greenfield site and broke ground in March 2025 on a $260 million PCB plant in Bac Ninh, Vietnam, scheduled to begin opera- tions in Q4 2026. • Meiko is investing approximately $225 mil- lion in Vietnam to manufacture advanced 3D- structured boards for Samsung's AI-enabled smartphones. • Zhen Ding has budgeted more than $1.58 billion in 2026 capital expenditure, including high-end capacity in Thailand and Taiwan, with roughly 10 plants under construction. • Unimicron plans over $800 million in 2026 CapEx, largely for advanced ABF substrate production for AI chips and server platforms, and has acquired land in Thailand for poten- tial multi-factory expansion. • Gold Circuit Electronics (GCE), NVIDIA's main PCB supplier for switch trays, is operating its first factory in Thailand at full capacity. • Unitech PCB, Kingboard, Compeq, and Tripod Technology have all announced or ramped new capacity across Thailand and Vietnam. • TTM Technologies officially opened its first PCB manufacturing facility in Penang, Malay- sia, in April 2024, with a $200 million invest- ment. The site is designed for a future Phase- 2 expansion of approximately 25% capacity. • AT&S has begun high-volume manufacturing at its Malaysia campus, supplying high-end IC substrates for AMD's data center processors. On paper, this resembles a textbook China Plus One strategy. In practice, the economics remain challenging. Morgan Stanley estimates that PCB production costs in Thailand are approximately 20% higher than in mainland China, driven by cross-border lo- gistics, equipment debugging costs, and differenc- es in labor efficiency. While hyperscalers such as NVIDIA and Amazon are currently willing to absorb this premium to secure supply-chain resilience, these structural disadvantages remain a meaning- ful headwind for others. Structural Constraints Outside China Prismark analysis indicates that many new PCB entrants outside China are proceeding cautiously. Despite achieving volume production, numerous suppliers face: • Weak end-market demand outside AI-related segments • Low utilization rates • High material and logistics costs • Shortages of trained engineers and experi- enced production talent Labor dynamics further complicate ramp-ups. Thai labor practices tend to emphasize balanced working patterns, while PCB suppliers from main- land China and Taiwan often operate more ag- gressively during scale-up phases. Demand for Chinese-speaking engineers and technical manag- ers remains particularly acute, and once incentives and efficiency adjustments are factored in, effec- tive labor costs in Thailand can be several times those in China.