The global connector price hike continues; more than 50 domestic connector companies have issued price increase notices.
The global connector price hike that began in early 2026 continues to escalate, with international giants recently raising prices for some products again. Leading domestic connector companies are following suit, adopting differentiated pricing strategies. This round of price increases is driven by a combination of factors: rigid increases in raw material costs, supply-demand imbalances in the high-end market, and a reshaping of the industry landscape. This not only reshapes the industry's pricing system but also accelerates domestic substitution and industrial upgrading.
Global Giants Lead Price Hikes, with Increases Range from 3% to 15%
Since 2026, leading global connector companies have issued numerous price adjustment notices, covering all product categories and key high-value-added product lines. TE Connectivity (TE) implemented price increases across its entire product line starting in January, with increases ranging from 5% to 12%. Amphenol simultaneously raised prices for its communication and automotive products by 5% to 15%. Hirose Electric (HRS) planned a 4% to 15% price adjustment in Q2 of fiscal year 2026, focusing on high-value products such as micro-type and board-to-board connectors. Molex implemented single- to double-digit price adjustments for industrial and older products. By early May, the price increases by international giants had largely been implemented, with some companies initiating a second round of price adjustments, leading to a continued upward shift in global connector prices.
Domestic manufacturers are adopting differentiated approaches, with leading companies driving price adjustments. Faced with global price increases and cost pressures, domestic connector companies are no longer passively responding but are implementing differentiated price adjustments based on their own product structure and market positioning. Leading domestic companies such as Luxshare Precision and AVIC Optoelectronics have primarily raised prices on older, low-margin models by 3%-8%. Prices for high-margin, high-demand products, such as high-voltage connectors for new energy vehicles and high-speed connectors for AI servers, remain firm, with some high-end models seeing slight price increases due to supply shortages. Furthermore, second- and third-tier companies like China Starcom and Yangtze Connectors have raised prices on general-purpose connectors by 5%-10% based on raw material fluctuations, prioritizing profit margins for core products. According to industry statistics, as of May 2026, over 50 connector companies in China have issued price increase notices, with the adjustment cycle concentrated in April and May, covering mainstream application areas such as automotive, communications, and industrial automation.
Three Factors Driving Price Increases: Cost and Supply/Demand as Core Drivers
This round of connector price increases is not a short-term fluctuation but the result of multiple long-term factors.
Soaring raw material costs are eroding profit margins: Copper accounts for 40%-60% of connector raw material costs. In early 2026, LME copper prices broke through $11,000/ton, while domestic Shanghai copper prices stabilized at a high of 80,000 yuan/ton, and have recently maintained high-level fluctuations. Simultaneously, prices of precious metals such as gold and silver, as well as high-performance plastics such as LCP (liquid crystal polymer), are rising in tandem. Coupled with rising labor and logistics costs, corporate profit margins are being continuously squeezed, making price increases a direct means of offsetting costs.
Explosive demand for high-end products and supply-demand imbalances are driving up premiums: 800V high-voltage platforms are becoming standard in new energy vehicles, with connectors per vehicle being 3-5 times more valuable than those in traditional fuel vehicles, leading to a shortage of high-voltage connector capacity. The explosive growth in AI computing power is causing exponential growth in demand for high-speed server backplane connectors and I/O connectors. This supply-demand imbalance in high-end products gives manufacturers strong pricing power.
The industry landscape is being reshaped, with leading companies dominating pricing: The global connector market is highly concentrated, with international giants leveraging their technological and channel advantages to control pricing. Leading domestic companies are accelerating their breakthroughs in the high-end market, competing with international giants in new energy and computing power, and possess the ability to pass on costs. Simultaneously, companies are using price increases as an opportunity to eliminate low-margin production lines, shifting resources towards high-value-added products and driving business structure upgrades.
Industry Impact Diverges: Domestic Substitution Accelerates, Small and Medium-Sized Manufacturers Under Pressure
Under the wave of price increases, the connector industry presents a pattern of "leading companies benefiting, mid-tier companies segmenting, and smaller companies under pressure."
Leading Companies: Domestic leaders such as Luxshare Precision and AVIC Optoelectronics, leveraging their technological advantages, high-end product portfolios, and economies of scale, have successfully passed on costs while simultaneously enhancing brand premiums and accelerating their market share gains against international giants.
Small and Medium-Sized Manufacturers: Small and medium-sized brands focusing on general-purpose connectors are facing significantly compressed profit margins due to severe product homogenization and weak bargaining power. Some companies face the risk of being eliminated, accelerating industry consolidation.
Downstream industries: Customers in high-end sectors such as new energy vehicles and AI servers prioritize connector stability and reliability, and are more accepting of price increases. Customers in mid-to-low-end sectors such as consumer electronics, facing rising cost pressures, may accelerate their shift to cost-effective domestic suppliers.
The price increase trend continues, ushering in a golden age for domestic substitution. Industry insiders predict that raw material prices, such as copper, are unlikely to fall in the short term. Coupled with continued strong demand for high-end products, the price increase trend for connectors may continue until the second half of 2026. In the long term, the price surge will force technological innovation in the industry, driving the iteration of high-voltage, high-speed, and miniaturized connector products. Simultaneously, it will accelerate the transfer of global production capacity to China. Domestic connector companies will continue to make breakthroughs in technology, quality, and production capacity, and are expected to achieve larger-scale substitution in high-end fields such as new energy and computing power. The industry is entering a new stage of value reassessment and high-quality development.
