Copper Prices Hold Near Record Highs as a 15% US Tariff on Refined Copper for 2027 Remains Undecided Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) closed at US$14,456 per tonne on October 20, 2026, up about 17% from the end of the first quarter and not far from the record closing high of US$14,812 set on September 9. Meanwhile, the United States has yet to decide whether to impose a 15% tariff on imported refined copper starting January 1, 2027. For display, power, and communica...

Why Are Japanese Motor Lead Times Getting Longer? Sourcing and Substitution Priorities After China Tightens Rare Earth Exports to Japan China's Ministry of Commerce announced tighter export controls on dual-use items to Japan on January 6, 2026, and Japan's supply of heavy rare earths has tightened noticeably since then. Based on our direct discussions with customers and industry peers, certain specifications of some Japanese-brand motors now carry lead times of six months or more. Beca...

AI Squeezes Panel Upstream Material Capacity as Q4 TV Panel Costs Are Projected to Rise 4-7% According to display research released by TrendForce on September 21, 2026, AI-related demand is taking up capacity for upstream panel materials, and total TV panel costs in Q4 2026 are projected to rise 4-7% quarter on quarter. The same research expects Q4 TV panel demand to fall 4% from the previous quarter. With costs rising and demand softening at the same time, major panel makers are cuttin...

Electronic Component Shortages: Are Connector and Wire Harness Lead Times Getting Longer? How to Prepare with Alternative Parts The electronics supply chain has not returned to the broad, industry-wide shortages seen in previous years. However, AI server and semiconductor demand, rising engineering-plastic prices, higher copper and gold costs, and capacity shifts toward higher-value applications are increasing supply risk for selected materials and part numbers in 2026. For connectors,...

2026 Taiwan Automation Intelligence and Robot Show Opens on August 19 The 2026 Taiwan Automation Intelligence and Robot Show (TAIROS) will take place from August 19 to 22, 2026, at Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center, Halls 1 and 2. According to the exhibition information currently available, the show covers Industrial Automation, Industrial Robots / Robot Arms, AGVs, Machine Vision, Artificial Intelligence, Sensors, PLCs, SCADA, MES, Industrial IoT, and related key components. AMRs and AI...

2026 H2 AI Server Hardware Upgrades Decoded: Breaking Through Signal Attenuation Bottlenecks with High-Speed Cable Assemblies and Precision Interconnect Modules By the second half of 2026, the AI server industry has shifted decisively from conceptual hype to rigorous architectural upgrades and volume deployment. Official financial data from early July 2026 confirms that the AI hardware supply chain is generating tangible revenue growth, signaling that market demand has transitioned from th...

Navigating the 2026 Edge AI & Industrial IoT Landscape: How Agile, High-Mix, Low-Volume Supply Chains Reduce NPI Risks As we move further into 2026, the rules of global manufacturing have undergone a paradigm shift. With the rapid proliferation of Edge AI devices and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), end-user application scenarios have become increasingly "fragmented." The traditional reliance on large-scale, long-cycle, and standardized mass production models is proving inadequate...

2026 Green Energy Transformation: Three Technical Paths to Upgrade Solar PV to "PV+Storage Integration" By 2026, the global green energy transition has moved past the phase of a "race for installation capacity" and entered the critical stage of "grid flexibility and reliability." As the share of intermittent renewable energy grows, standalone solar photovoltaic (PV) plants are struggling to meet complex grid-dispatch requirements. The market focus has shifted rapidly from mere power genera...

The rapid expansion of generative AI, large language models (LLMs), AI servers, and high-performance computing (HPC) is significantly increasing power consumption and heat density inside data centers. Traditional air-cooling solutions are gradually reaching their physical limits, making liquid cooling technologies and high-current power interconnects two of the fastest-growing segments in the electronics industry. For Taiwan's electronics supply chain, this represents not only a technology upg...

COMPUTEX 2026 once again became one of the world's most influential technology exhibitions, with artificial intelligence (AI), intelligent computing, robotics, and edge computing taking center stage. During the event, NVIDIA and Intel presented their latest AI strategies, highlighting the continued expansion of AI infrastructure and next-generation computing technologies. As generative AI, large language models (LLMs), and AI agents continue to reshape industries, market demand is rapidly e...

Learn the key differences between OLED and Mini LED display technologies, including display quality, brightness, cost, and ideal use cases. A simple comparison guide for TVs, monitors, laptops, and other display devices. OLED and Mini LED are two of the most popular premium display technologies available today. While both deliver excellent image quality, they use different approaches to produce images. OLED uses self-emissive pixels, while Mini LED uses an LCD panel combined with thousa...

As demand for AI data centers, electric vehicles, energy transition, and global grid upgrades continues to grow simultaneously, copper prices have once again become a major market focus. Public market data shows that London Metal Exchange (LME) copper prices remained above USD 10,000 per metric ton throughout April 2026, with some trading sessions exceeding USD 13,000, reflecting continued market sensitivity to copper supply and future demand expectations. In recent years, copper has ...

The official HANNOVER MESSE 2026 materials place Industrial AI at the center of the show, explicitly highlighting real-world applications ranging from autonomous robots to generative AI. The organizer also emphasizes that the event is focused on concrete industrial solutions, not just conceptual innovation. From an industry perspective, generative AI is moving well beyond chatbots and content creation. It is increasingly being applied on the factory floor for scheduling, quality i...

Official Touch Taiwan 2026 materials show that PLP panel-level packaging is a featured zone, and the show’s news coverage also states that the 2026 theme extends across PLP panel-level packaging, advanced semiconductor packaging, and CPO silicon photonics. In other words, advanced packaging and high-speed interconnect are no longer niche topics; they are becoming central to the industry conversation. From a technology perspective, SEMI’s public information says that FOPLP (Fan-Out P...

As tensions between the U.S. and Iran continue to escalate, the impact is no longer limited to geopolitics. It is increasingly feeding into global energy and logistics markets. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) says the Strait of Hormuz handled more than one-quarter of global seaborne oil trade in 2024 and the first quarter of 2025, while roughly one-fifth of global oil and petroleum product consumption was linked to the route. The strait is also a critical corridor for LNG ...

Global inflation has eased from its peak, but the pressure has not fully disappeared. IMF data shows that annual global inflation stood at 3.6% in September 2025, unchanged from July and August, suggesting that disinflation is continuing but at a slower pace. In Taiwan, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said in its latest 2025 Q3 outlook that CPI is projected to rise 1.67% in 2025. DGBAS also noted that food-away-from-home prices and residential rents ar...

The semiconductor industry has officially entered the 2nm era. TSMC confirmed that its 2nm (N2) process entered volume production in Q4 2025, marking a major milestone in advanced node competition. According to official data, the 2nm node introduces first-generation nanosheet transistor architecture, delivering significant improvements in both performance and power efficiency. Compared to previous nodes, it achieves approximately 10–15% speed gains at the same power level or 25–30% ...

As demand for generative AI and large language models continues to surge, global chip leader NVIDIA announced in Q3 2025 a strategic investment of approximately $500 million to accelerate the development of fiber optic transmission and high-speed interconnect technologies. This move aims to significantly enhance data center performance, bandwidth capacity, and overall efficiency. The investment is widely seen as a critical step in addressing the growing need for high-speed, low-latency data...

On April 15, 2025, the White House announced a new round of tariffs targeting specific Chinese imports, with rates reaching as high as 245%. The move, aimed at strengthening national security and domestic supply chains, affects products such as syringes and needles, according to the official fact sheet. The decision reflects growing concerns about economic resilience and strategic independence. However, it also raises the possibility of renewed tensions between the U.S. and China, which cou...

In a bold move toward clean energy, tech giants Google and Microsoft are heavily investing in advanced nuclear and geothermal energy technologies. Both companies have announced multi-billion-dollar investments to develop breakthrough energy solutions, with the aim to significantly reduce carbon emissions over the next decade and meet sustainability targets. Google plans to focus on enhancing the safety and efficiency of nuclear power, particularly in small modular reactors (SMRs), a pro...

In a major leap toward clean energy, the United States added 50 gigawatts (GW) of new solar power capacity in 2024—a historic record that significantly outpaced previous years. This surge highlights both the effectiveness of renewable energy incentives and the growing adoption of solar technology across homes and businesses. According to preliminary data from the U.S. Department of Energy, solar power was the fastest-growing electricity source in the country for 2024. This expansion al...

According to the United Nations’ 2024 Global E-Waste Monitoring Report, the global generation of electronic waste is happening five times faster than its recycling rate. In 2022, 62 million tons of e-waste were produced, equivalent to 1.55 million 40-ton trucks, which if lined up, could circle the Earth. E-waste, including outdated or broken devices like phones, computers, and appliances, contains harmful substances such as lead, mercury, and cadmium, which can cause long-lasting environme...

Carbon Fee Implementation Begins Nationwide Starting from the dawn of 2024, businesses across Taiwan have commenced the implementation of carbon fees. This initiative stems from the enactment of the Climate Change Response Act on January 10, 2023, with the aim of propelling the transition towards a low-carbon society in response to the global climate crisis. Carbon fees represent a pivotal carbon pricing mechanism designed to compel businesses emitting greenhouse gases to bear the a...

The Candidate List currently includes entries for 235 chemicals that may pose a risk to human health or the environment. It is the responsibility of businesses to manage the risks posed by these chemicals and to provide customers and consumers with information on the safe use of these chemicals. On 14 June 2023, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) added two new chemicals to the Candidate List. One is toxic for reproduction and the other is persistent and bioaccumulative. These chemicals a...