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The increase in electronics consumption during the Covid-19 pandemic and the outbreaks of the disease in Southeast Asia were one of the main factors behind the shortage in the supply of semiconductor chips and passive componentss, such as capacitors, resistors and inductors in global industry.
Now, the market is experiencing yet another problem. This is a shortage of copper and copper-clad laminates (CCLs), used to manufacture printed circuit boards (PCBs) that power all electronic products currently available.
“So, everything that uses printed circuit boards can be affected. Such as, for example, photovoltaic inverters, microinverters and optimizers”, said Mateus Vinturini, specialist in photovoltaic systems.
In the midst of this scenario, according to the DigiTimes – a daily newspaper for the semiconductor, electronics, computer and communications industries in Taiwan and the Greater China region – the costs of copper foils used to make CCLs are rising.
Consequently, it is putting significant pressure on PCB manufacturers (ranging from computers to inverter logic boards) to increase their price quotes. According to the website specialized in technologies TechPowerUp, this generally results in two types of actions taken by the manufacturer: raising the price or reducing the product's profit margin.
“Copper values have increased by 35% since Q4 2020, so rising costs are inevitable. With the rise in MSRP (Manufacturer's Suggested Price) representing a common trend in the computer industry in the past period, this factor could easily translate into an increase in manufacturers' pricing structure,” TechPowerUp said in a note.
“This means that we as consumers could see higher values for complex printed circuit boards, especially those models with PCBs made from a large number of copper layers,” the note concludes.
However, in Vinturini's view, even with such cost increases, solar is expected to continue growing at a rapid pace. “The market expects the supply of semiconductors to stabilize between 2022 and 2023 at the latest,” highlighted the expert.
