Analysis of the Reasons for Price Increases in Smart TV Mainboard Raw Materials

As the “central nervous system” of the entire smart TV, the mainboard integrates core components such as main control chips, storage devices, printed circuit boards (PCBs), and passive components. Fluctuations in the prices of its raw materials directly affect the cost dynamics of the entire TV industry. From the end of 2024 to 2025, the core raw materials for smart TV mainboards collectively entered a price increase channel: the purchase price of 4GB DDR4 modules rose by 18% year-on-year, the unit price of 32GB eMMC flash memory increased by more than 15%, and the prices of copper-clad laminates, high-end capacitors and other products also continued to climb, bringing significant cost pressure to mainboard manufacturers and enterprises. This round of price increases is not caused by a single factor, but by the combined effect of multiple forces such as supply-demand patterns, technological iteration, and supply chain restructuring.

I. Imbalance between Supply and Demand of Core Components, with Storage and Passive Components Leading the Price Increase

As the “memory center” of the mainboard, storage devices have the most direct impact on costs through their price fluctuations. DDR memory and eMMC embedded flash memory account for 12%-18% of the mainboard material cost. The global storage market is highly concentrated in leading enterprises such as Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron, and their production capacity adjustments directly dominate the price trend. At the end of 2024, mainstream storage manufacturers implemented production cuts to digest the previous high inventory, leading to a phased tightening of the supply of NAND Flash and DRAM wafers, which pushed the price of storage chips to rise continuously since the fourth quarter of 2024. For TV enterprises with an annual shipment volume of more than 5 million units, the price increase of storage alone requires an additional annual cost of 5-6 million US dollars.

The passive component field presents a structural price increase characteristic of “shortage of high-end products and surplus of mid-to-low-end products”. Components such as MLCC (multi-layer ceramic chip capacitors) and tantalum capacitors required for smart TV mainboards are simultaneously facing demand squeeze from AI servers and new energy vehicles. The MLCC usage of a single AI server is twice that of a traditional server, and the tantalum capacitor usage is even eight times. The MLCC usage per new energy vehicle has increased from 6,000 pieces for traditional fuel vehicles to 18,000 pieces. The massive demand continues to divert the production capacity of components for mainboards. Combined with the fact that the production capacity of high-end passive components is concentrated in international manufacturers such as Murata and Yageo, and the domestic production capacity climbs slowly, the supply-demand gap continues to expand, driving the price of automotive-grade MLCC to increase by 8%-12% cumulatively, and the price of high-capacity tantalum capacitors to rise by 20%-30%.

II. PCB Industry Chain Under Cost Pressure, Dual Constraints of Raw Materials and Production Capacity

As the “framework” of the mainboard, the price increase of printed circuit boards (PCBs) is mainly driven by the dual factors of raw material price increases and production capacity shortages. Copper accounts for about 30% of the production cost of copper-clad laminates, the core raw material of PCBs. From 2023 to 2025, the international copper price remained at a historically high level, directly supporting the upward price of copper-clad laminates. At the same time, the prices of auxiliary materials such as glass fiber cloth and epoxy resin rose synchronously: the price of electronic yarn increased by 800 yuan per ton, and the price of electronic cloth increased by 0.3 yuan per meter, further pushing up the production cost of copper-clad laminates.

The structural shortage on the production capacity side has intensified the price increase pressure. The strong demand for copper foil in the new energy vehicle industry has led to a large-scale diversion of PCB-grade copper foil production capacity. The construction of new electrolytic copper foil production capacity takes 2-3 years to put into operation, forming a long-term supply gap. In addition, overseas copper-clad laminate enterprises are accelerating their transformation to high-end products, and the proportion of mid-to-low-end production capacity continues to decline, leading to a global supply gap of mid-to-low-end copper-clad laminates. Domestic smart TV mainboards mostly use mid-to-low-end copper-clad laminates, directly facing the dual impact of supply tension and price increases. Data shows that the purchase price of rigid copper-clad laminates has increased significantly in the first half of 2025, with some specifications increasing by more than 12%.

III. Industrial Chain Restructuring and External Environment, Intensifying Uncertainty in Price Fluctuations

Global supply chain restructuring and geopolitical factors have further amplified the volatility of raw material prices. Against the background of Sino-US technological competition, domestic enterprises are accelerating the localization substitution of core components such as main control chips. The localization rate of smart TV main control chips has exceeded 35% in 2024. However, the production capacity爬坡 and yield improvement in the initial stage of localization substitution make it difficult for the prices of some domestic components to form a cost advantage in the short term. At the same time, mainboard manufacturers have established a “dual-source procurement” mechanism to ensure supply chain security, and the switching and balance between domestic and overseas suppliers also increase the uncertainty of procurement costs.

The superimposed effect of the inventory cycle has intensified the short-term price increase pressure. In the first half of 2024, the electronics industry was generally in the deinventory stage, and the inventory of raw materials such as copper-clad laminates and glass fiber cloth dropped to the lowest level in nearly 5 years, with the inventory days of some specifications being less than 30 days. From the end of 2024 to the beginning of 2025, the downstream demand recovery and inventory replenishment occurred simultaneously. When the supply has not yet fully recovered, the concentrated release of demand against the background of low inventory directly promoted the rapid price increase. In addition, the quarterly procurement agreements signed between mainboard manufacturers and upstream suppliers have a time lag in price adjustment, resulting in the compression of enterprise profits during the period of market price increases, further transmitting the price increase demand.