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TAIPEI, TAIWAN, SEOUL, KOREA and MELVILLE, NY – Across the globe, copper clad laminate (CCL) suppliers are making adjustments to production volumes and product pricing to cope with weakening demand. Park Electrochemical announced last week that sales for the third quarter were down 23% and profit fell by over 60%.

CCL suppliers in Taiwan and Korea are said to be conducting price wars following demand drop and lower copper prices according to industry sources. The average copper price has dropped from $3.67 per pound in August down to the current price of $1.29 per pound, a 65% drop. Some CCL suppliers have taken losses on copper in inventory that was purchased at the higher third quarter prices and not sold when demand dropped throughout the fourth quarter. These materials are being sold at a loss to clear inventory.

Some CCL suppliers in Taiwan and Korea are quoting laminate materials based on current copper prices in an attempt to gain market share and reduce inventory levels. This is a change to the common practice of quoting based on an average cost of copper over the previous two-to-three month period.

At the same time many CCL suppliers are cutting production, closing plants and reducing headcount.

The decline in CCL prices and weakened demand impacts raw material prices and production as well. As an example, glass fabric manufacturer Taiwan Glass Industrial has stopped production at two more furnaces, TT-6 in Taoyuan, Taiwan and TGF-2 in China. The company had already stopped operations at three other furnaces earlier in December.

TAIPEI, TAIWAN -- Yu Fo Electronic, a PCB motherboard supplier with manufacturing locations in Taiwan and China, reported declining sales and an overall factory utilization rate below 50% for the fourth quarter.

This news follows announcements by Asustek Computer and Gigabyte Technology of sharp declines in shipments for the fourth quarter. Asustek and Gigabyte estimated fourth-quarter shipments would drop by 10% to 25%.

Yu Fo's November sales were down 48% compared to previous months.

According to sources, Yu Fo has reduced its workforce in Huizhou China by 300 people. This is expected to reduce labor cost by approximately $60,000 monthly. The company has also stopped some production lines in Huizhou, China and Taoyuan, Taiwan to cope with weakened demand.