Ajinomoto, the dominant supplier of ABF film used in advanced IC substrates, has told customers it will shift to differentiated allocation because of raw material shortages, prioritizing AI and other high-end applications. A channel survey cited by Meritz Securities said the company’s ABF film lines are expected to be fully loaded through the second quarter of 2026, with little near-term relief from new capacity. The move matters because ABF film is a key insulating layer in FC-BGA packaging for CPUs, GPUs and AI accelerators. While it accounts for only a small part of substrate cost, supply disruptions can halt production lines. The report said Ajinomoto has maintained more than 95% global market share in the segment. The supply squeeze is already showing up in lead times and pricing. Lead times have stretched from three to four months at the start of the year to more than 12 months, and some customers are already discussing 2029 capacity. The article pointed to rising demand from larger AI chips, including NVIDIA’s next-generation Rubin GPU, and expanding CoWoS packaging capacity at TSMC. According to the report, Taiwan’s Unimicron, Nan Ya PCB and Kinsus could benefit first because they already have high-end production scale, yield performance and customer qualifications. At the same time, non-AI customers are likely to face reduced allocation, longer waits and higher costs, while glass substrates are not expected to become a volume replacement before 2027.

Ajinomoto, which the report says controls more than 90% of the global ABF build-up film market, is facing tight capacity as AI server demand pushes up the need for FC-BGA substrate materials. Its monthly output has exceeded 2 million square meters, but production lines were already close to full utilization in the second quarter of this year. Against that backdrop, the Japanese supplier has reportedly moved to selective shipments, prioritizing domestic Japanese customers and core overseas accounts. Some Chinese manufacturers were notified that supply could be reduced by about 30%. The development has drawn attention to Taiwan-based Sino-American Silicon Products Inc. (5483) and its subsidiary Crystalwise Technology. Crystalwise, founded in 2015 and brought under the group at the end of 2024, is described in the source report as Taiwan’s first local maker to complete in-house R&D and mass production of insulating build-up film. SAS currently holds about 50.8% of the company. With products already certified by multiple customers in Taiwan and overseas and now in small-volume shipments, Crystalwise is seen as a potential second-source supplier if substrate makers accelerate supply diversification.

Citrini analyst Jukan said on Aug. 8 that South Korean PCB and package substrate makers could extend their strong second-quarter momentum into Q3, with earnings expectations continuing to improve. He cited Daeduck Electronics, Simmtech, and TLB as examples. Daeduck Electronics reported Q2 revenue of 401 billion won, up 63% year over year, while operating profit jumped 3,599% to 70.3 billion won. Simmtech posted revenue of 514.6 billion won, up 51%, and operating profit of 62.9 billion won, up 1,035%. TLB recorded revenue of 88.2 billion won, up 38%, with operating profit rising 86% to 12.8 billion won. Jukan said Daeduck’s strength lies in FC-BGA, FC-CSP, and multilayer PCB products used in AI data centers. He described Simmtech as focused on package substrates and memory module PCBs, while TLB supplies PCBs tied to server DDR5 and enterprise SSDs. He also said a shift in BT substrate orders to Korean suppliers, along with rising SOCAMM demand tied to Nvidia’s next-generation Vera Rubin GPU and Vera CPU shipments, could support the next leg of growth.

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