[Hot Topic] A Single Circuit Board Brings the Global Electronics Supply Chain to a Standstill

October 27 — According to a report by *Nikkei Asia*, as executives at PC and smartphone manufacturers begin planning their supply requirements for 2027, a seemingly mundane material—printed circuit boards (PCBs)—has emerged as a critical bottleneck.

Major AI chip developers now view PCBs as a "strategic resource." An executive at a U.S.-based PC manufacturer revealed, "Various types of PCBs have become a key bottleneck in our product planning for next year." He admitted, "Even though PC shipments might decline again next year, we are still struggling to secure enough PCBs to meet our needs."

PCBs and chip substrates have become a major supply constraint for consumer electronics manufacturers, including those producing smartphones and computers. This tension is intensifying as the demand for AI-related computing power consumes an ever-growing share of available production capacity.

Leading AI chip developers—Nvidia, Broadcom, and AMD—now regard PCBs and chip substrates as strategic resources that must be secured to support their respective expansion plans.

Notably, AI chip giant Nvidia has recently announced partnerships with several major chip substrate manufacturers, including Japan’s Ibiden, South Korea’s Samsung Electro-Mechanics, and Taiwan’s Unimicron, with the goal of increasing production capacity by 2.5 times over the next three years. Broadcom, a major U.S. provider of networking equipment and ASICs, has also identified advanced chip substrates as a persistent supply chain bottleneck; the company has established a joint venture in Singapore with Japan’s Toppan Holdings to expand supply. Meanwhile, AMD CEO Lisa Su has made multiple visits to the company’s chip material and PCB suppliers this year to secure additional capacity.

Like processors and memory chips, PCBs and chip substrates are indispensable components in virtually all electronic devices, serving as the interconnect layer that allows various parts to communicate with one another. Historically, they received relatively little attention—partly because they account for a small portion of a device’s total bill of materials, and partly because they were perceived as being "less technologically demanding" compared to chip fabrication and packaging. However, their importance has risen significantly, as they now play a pivotal role in determining chip connectivity efficiency, communication speeds, and the overall performance of computing systems. The essence of this PCB shortage lies in a supply chain reallocation triggered by the demand for AI computing power. The massive requirements from AI chip giants—such as Nvidia, Broadcom, and AMD—for high-end PCBs and chip substrates are siphoning production capacity away from the traditional consumer electronics sector. Simultaneously, the supply side is further strained by lengthening lead times for manufacturing equipment, soaring prices for copper-clad laminates, and shortages of foundational materials like E-glass and T-glass. For consumer electronics manufacturers such as HP, Dell, and Apple, this creates an awkward reality for their 2027 product roadmaps: even if end-user demand remains weak, a seemingly "inconspicuous" circuit board could become the critical bottleneck that disrupts product shipments.