With global inflation and supply chain instability continuing, the expense burden of raw materials in the electronics industry has grown significantly. Samsung Electronics' materials and supplies purchases last year were tallied as having increased by about 8 trillion won from the previous year.
According to the 2025 business report disclosed by Samsung Electronics on the 15th, Samsung Electronics' materials and supplies purchases last year, excluding Samsung Display, were 99 trillion 9,475 billion won, up 8.8% from 91 trillion 8,398 billion won the year before.
In particular, the expense increase was pronounced in the Device eXperience (DX) institutional sector, which handles smartphones, TVs, and home appliances. The DX institutional sector's materials and supplies purchases were 74 trillion 5,693 billion won, up about 7 trillion won from 67 trillion 7,958 billion won a year earlier.
LG Electronics also saw its materials and supplies purchasing expense rise to 17 trillion 4,096 billion won last year, up about 1 trillion won from 16 trillion 4,794 billion won in 2024.
The display industry was also affected by higher prices for materials and parts. Samsung Display's materials and supplies purchasing expense last year was 13 trillion 592 billion won, up about 500 billion won from 12 trillion 4,966 billion won the year before.
Prices for flexible printed circuit assembly (FPCA), used for panel driving and signal transmission, rose about 6% from a year earlier, and prices for cover glass for tempered glass also climbed about 12%.
By contrast, LG Display's raw material purchasing expense fell to 9 trillion 4,617 billion won last year from 11 trillion 5,145 billion won in 2024, due to its exit from the large LCD business.
The electronic components industry also faced a heavier burden from rising materials and supplies prices. LG Innotek's materials and supplies purchases were 17 trillion 4,096 billion won, up about 1 trillion won from 16 trillion 4,793 billion won a year earlier, and Samsung Electro-Mechanics increased by about 200 billion won over the same period, from 4 trillion 2,174 billion won to 4 trillion 4,708 billion won.
This is attributed to a 15–18.7% increase from a year earlier in prices of copper-clad laminate (CCL) and polypropylene (PP), key materials for the package solution business. The average purchase unit price of sensor ICs for camera modules also rose 3.7–6.6%.
Industry watchers note that higher oil prices and logistics costs stemming from conflicts in the Middle East could further increase the raw material price burden this year. In particular, semiconductor prices used in smartphones, PCs, TVs, and home appliances are expected to continue rising.
According to market research firm TrendForce, PC DRAM prices in the first quarter of this year are expected to jump 105–110% from the previous quarter, reaching an all-time high on a quarterly basis.