Anyone with evergreens in their garden probably knows the familiar feeling of putting your hand on the trunk and coming away with a sticky film on your fingers. This sticky substance is better known as resin. Under the right conditions, tree resin hardens. Humans, like so many natural substances, realized that resin could be made synthetically with a soup of petrochemicals. Synthetic versions harden even further to become a durable, heat-resistant material used in everything from adhesives and coatings to plastics and electronics. Resin is an essential element in the manufacture of printed circuit boards, which are used in everything from smartphones and computers to home appliances and automobiles.
When Saudi Arabia’s Jubail petrochemical and industrial complex was struck by Iranian missiles on April 6 and 7, it was the final blow in a convergence of factors – geopolitical, financial, physical – that destroyed a key global reservoir of resin, leaving the crucial component for circuit boards in short supply. The factories had already closed in late March when it became clear that transit through the Strait of Hormuz was untenable during the conflict, and it has still not been restored.
There is little public information on the exact status of the Jubail complex today, although Dow CEO Jim Fittering (Dow has a joint venture with Saudi Aramco in Jubail) said during his company’s April 23 earnings conference call that it continues to guide a “275-day-plus” process to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and return supply chains to normal. Based on his comments, the repairs needed at the complex seem less critical than the overall logistical situation. “I think a lot of this can be repaired in that time frame. … just talking to our partners, I think they’re actively working on repairs, and I haven’t heard anything from them that leads me to believe that this is going to extend longer than this duration of this logistical constraint,” Fittering said.
But experts say a resin production shutdown extending into the fall, within that 275-day period, would start to hurt consumers for some electronic devices.
According to the April producer price index dataresins and plastic materials have been among the contributors leading to an annual increase of 9.4% in the prices of processed products – the largest increase in more than three years.
CNBC was recently makes a rare tour of the facilities of an American PCB manufacturer, TTM, which highlighted the fragility of the supply chain necessary for the manufacture of computer components. The report notes that in 2000, 30% of PCBs were manufactured in the United States. Today, this figure stands at 4%, with China being the world leader in production.
Whether PCBs are made in the United States or China, the resin always comes from the same sources.
Nvidia’s Chinese supplier Victory Giant, one of the world’s largest PCB makers, has warned that the Middle East conflict could drive up prices for key ingredients copper and resin. Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Prices increased by up to 40 percent from March to April, according to a note from Goldman Sachs cited by Reuters. TTMwhich has seen its stock price rise more than 400% over the past year, told CNBC it is raising prices between 5% and 25%.
Mark Vena, CEO and principal analyst at SmartTech Research, said consumers will soon feel price pain, but won’t necessarily hear about resin at malls.
“In all likelihood, consumers probably won’t hear about an ‘EPI resin shortage’ in the Apple Store, but they might experience it through higher prices, longer repair times, tighter launch inventory and fewer discounts,” Vena said. Circuit boards are the nervous system of any modern device, and when board costs rise, the pain quickly spreads to phones, laptops, wearables, gaming consoles, routers, and AI servers.
“I would expect upward pressure on prices for high-end electronics, but not necessarily a clean ‘resin surcharge’ on the next iPhone,” Vena said.
Apple and the supply chain economics inside the smartphoneApple is better protected than most companies because it has enormous purchasing power, long-term supplier agreements, sophisticated forecasting and the ability to rethink constraints more quickly than smaller players. “But isolated doesn’t mean immune, because every iPhone still depends on high-reliability circuit boards and the same global network of materials that everyone uses,” Vena said. “Apple can shift the pain, but it can’t make a concentrated petrochemical bottleneck go away,” he added.
Manufacturers could absorb some of the shock, with Apple leading the way, and offset increased costs elsewhere, such as more limited promotions, higher storage costs, and also push consumers toward more expensive configurations rather than announcing a dramatic increase in base price. But this is a niche market where Apple, Nvidia, Google and everyone else compete for PCB-grade glass fabric from a single supplier.
According to Vena, many companies have less wiggle room in their business model to take the hit than Apple. “The biggest short-term squeeze could appear first in low-margin devices like PCs, accessories, gaming hardware, routers and mid-range Android phones, where manufacturers have less margin to take a 40% shock to PCBs,” he said.
For all smartphone makers, the cost increase could be felt most acutely in the case of a foldable smartphone, Vena said. There are reports Apple could enter this market later in the year, however potential delays in a release planned for September 2026 have been reported.
Thad Hwang, founder and CEO of Goji Mobile, said that smartphone prices will not see an increase in the coming months, especially when it comes to flagship phones such as the iPhone 17 and the Samsung Galaxy S26 series. “Retail prices for these phones are well known and inventories are generally well stocked,” he said, adding that the long-term effects of semiconductor manufacturing disruptions and supply chain instability could be felt in the fall.
Usha Haley, a supply chain expert and professor at Wichita State University, said the Jubail complex in Saudi Arabia supplies about 70% of the world’s high-purity polyphenylene ether resin. “Production is now at a standstill and no alternative suppliers exist to fill the void. PCB prices have increased by 40 percent in one month and lead times for epoxy resins have increased from three weeks to fifteen,” Haley said.
Resin replacements for high-end technology do not existThere are no ready-made substitutes for resin, although industries are exploring alternatives.
High purity PPE resin is used because it provides the electrical, thermal and reliability characteristics needed for advanced PCBs, especially where signal integrity is important. Substitutes may work in some low-end electronics, but for high-end smartphones, RF components, AI servers, and automotive electronics, any material change involves requalification, redesign, testing, and time.
“It’s not like trading one screw for another,” Vena said.
Engineers may be able to switch to PTFE or epoxy-based laminates for low-frequency applications. But that shortage, coupled with rising memory prices and tariffs, will likely push the price of electronics to the highest level in a decade by the fall, supply chain experts said.
Advocates for resin and other plastics point out that supply disruptions provide further impetus for increased offshoring of plastics production. The Plastics Industry Association, the sector’s main trade group, said it was monitoring the situation closely.
“What is happening now highlights the importance of building resilient supply networks that support American manufacturers, businesses and consumers who rely on plastic products every day,” said Matt Seaholm, president and CEO of the trade group, while noting that the current resin supply chain is evolving. “Global supply disruptions affect all industries, and plastics are no exception. The United States has a strong domestic manufacturing and materials base that helps keep resin supply chains moving during periods of uncertainty,” Seaholm said.
Sridhar Tayur, a professor of operations management at Carnegie Mellon University and a supply chain expert, says the U.S. doesn’t have the manufacturing capacity to replace lost resin, and the skills have gone elsewhere — and executives don’t pay attention until a crisis arises, as is happening now.
Even though larger companies are better positioned, he said even they will start to feel the resin pinch if the shortage isn’t eased soon. “All of a sudden people are going to dip into their stocks,” Tayur said.
If the Saudi Arabian plant remains offline for a few more months, the problems will start then. “The situation will affect data centers, routers and high-end 5G phones – this is where the type of resin used matters the most,” Tayur said. The impact will surprise most consumers, and those looking for premium phones may choose to delay their purchases due to availability or pricing.
For Apple and other electronics makers, “there’s not much they can do about the shortage, if it simply doesn’t exist,” Tayur said.
—CNBC’s Katie Tarasov contributed to this report.