Recently, most importers are facing a troublesome situation, which is all suppliers are increasing price, which makes business hard. Crazy high flash prices are influencing the Laptop / PC market heavily and therefor also accessories. As a professional usb charger manufacturer, ZONSAN is also facing this tough situation. Let's follow our analysis, and find out the truth.
What is happenning to key components of usb chargers?
Basic Raw Materials (the structural cost foundation): Prices of metals such as copper, silver, tin, zinc, and gallium have been continuously rising.
Core Semiconductor Chips (the technological cost core):
Power Management ICs (PMICs) / AC-DC chips: Prices are generally up. Major vendors like Infineon have announced price adjustments; some consumer‑grade fast‑charging ICs from Texas Instruments have seen increases of 5%–15%.
Gallium Nitride (GaN) chips: Due to AI‑driven demand pressures, prices surged 30%–40% in Q2 2026, with average unit prices rising from 35–40 RMB to 55 RMB.
Other chips: Prices for wireless charging, protocol, and other chips are also under pressure from rising upstream costs.
Passive Components (the "bricks and mortar" of circuits):
Capacitors and resistors: MLCCs (multilayer ceramic capacitors), tantalum capacitors, resistors, etc., are all seeing broad increases.
Specific increases: Yageo raised prices on some consumer‑grade resistors by 15–20%; Fenghua Advanced increased prices on inductor/magnetic bead products by 5–25%, and on ceramic capacitors and varistors by 10–20%.
Other Key Components:
Transformers: average procurement costs have risen 15–20%.
Copper‑intensive parts such as internal coils, PCB copper‑clad laminates, and connector terminals have also seen significant cost increases.
You may say usb charger is just sub-field, you have no business of usb charger. Then let's see what is happening to PCB board.
The three main raw materials for PCBs – copper foil, fiberglass fabric (electronic glass cloth), and epoxy resin – together account for over 85% of the cost of CCL (Copper Clad Laminate). All of these have seen sharp price increases:
Copper Foil: Copper prices remain at historically high levels. High-end HVLP (Very Low Profile) copper foil, driven by AI demand, is facing significant supply shortages, with projected deficits of 28%, 39%, and 38% for 2026, 2027, and 2028, respectively.
Fiberglass Fabric (Electronic Cloth): Supply is extremely tight, with five rounds of price hikes already this year. Average prices have surged by as much as 100% from their 2025 lows. Capacity expansion is constrained by overseas equipment lead times that stretch for years.
As a result, CCL giant Kingboard Laminates has raised prices five times already in 2026, with cumulative increases exceeding 50%.
Epoxy Resin & PPE Resin: Epoxy resin costs have been pushed up by geopolitical conflicts. Meanwhile, approximately 70% of global PPE resin supply – used in high-end PCBs – comes from Saudi Arabia. Production outages in that region due to conflicts have triggered a "supply cutoff" crisis, causing prices for some PCBs to spike by as much as 40% in a single month.
This round of increases is not due to a single factor, but is driven by three overlapping pressures:
Soaring upstream metal raw material prices (the most fundamental driver): Prices of essential base metals like copper, silver, and tin have risen sharply. For example, copper prices have increased by over 30% year‑on‑year since 2025. These are essential materials for coils, PCBs, solder, and other core parts, directly pushing up production costs.
AI demand crowding out capacity (causing structural imbalance):
Chip capacity squeeze: The massive demand for high‑performance power chips from AI servers has crowded out capacity for consumer electronics (including chargers). For instance, high‑voltage GaN chips are being "snapped up" by AI demand, leading to tight supply and price increases for fast‑charging GaN chips.
Passive component demand spillover: AI servers' surging demand for MLCCs and other passive components has shifted production capacity toward high‑end products, squeezing the supply of mid‑ and low‑end passive components needed for chargers.
End‑demand pull and cost pass‑through: Strong demand from sectors like new energy vehicles competes with chargers for the same chips and passive components. At the same time, rising costs of upstream materials, labor, and electricity are passed down the supply chain, eventually reflected in end‑product prices.
In short, the price increase of chargers is the result of both the "push" from rising upstream raw material costs and the "pull" from strong demand driven by AI and new energy vehicles. This upward pressure is being transmitted along the chain of "upstream metals/wafers → chips/passive components → finished chargers", and ultimately borne by consumers. Hope Q3 and Q4 2026 will be better and business will recover a booming stage.
