Industries

The global connector industry has received a heavy blow. On December 4th, the global connector leader TE Connectivity (TE) issued a price adjustment notice to its global channel partners, announcing that starting from January 5, 2026, it would implement a price increase across all product lines and regions. This news quickly caused a shock within the industry chain, revealing the common pressure and challenges faced by the manufacturing sector in an inflationary environment.
Global uniform price adjustment: covering all product lines and regions
According to TE’s latest channel notice, this price adjustment is not a regional trial but a “global uniform” comprehensive adjustment. The announcement clearly states that it is applicable to all authorized distributors, reflecting the company’s unified deployment of its global market strategy.
The price increase coverage is extremely wide, ranging from automotive connectors to high-speed backplane connectors, from wire spring terminals to various industrial connectors, almost covering all product categories of TE. The increase in some categories was reported by distributors to be between 5% and 12%, which is a medium-intensity structural price increase.
As a leading enterprise in the connector industry, TE Connectivity’s products are widely used in multiple key fields such as automobiles, communications, industrial equipment, aerospace, etc. This full-line price increase means that from automotive manufacturing to data center construction, from industrial automation to consumer electronics, the cost structure of multiple industries will face adjustments.
This price adjustment by TE is the inevitable outcome of multiple factors coming together.
The continuous rise in raw material costs is the primary driving factor. Since 2025, the price range of copper has significantly increased. As a key raw material for connector manufacturing, the rise in copper prices directly pushed up production costs. A research report by CITIC Securities pointed out that $12,000 will be the new starting point for copper prices, and this prediction provides a quantitative reference for the cost pressure in the connector industry.
The global inflationary pressure has a particularly significant impact on multinational enterprises engaged in large-scale production. The cumulative effect of comprehensive costs is amplified in an inflationary environment. From energy, logistics to labor costs, the rising prices in each link eventually converge into a burden that enterprises find difficult to bear.
Strong structural demand provides another dimension to support the price increase. With the rapid development of fields such as electric vehicles, 5G communication, and industrial automation, the demand for high-performance connectors continues to grow, especially under the impetus of automotive electrification and data center upgrades, the high-end connector market shows a situation of insufficient supply compared to demand.
After several rounds of structural price adjustments in the past, TE chose to raise prices across the board again, reflecting the difficult choices made by the enterprise in balancing cost pressure and market competition.
The price increase decision of TE will inevitably trigger a chain reaction within the industrial chain.
In the short term, the most direct impact will be reflected in the costs of products such as automotive wiring harnesses, industrial equipment, and server complete units. Connectors, as key components of these products, will see their prices rise, directly pushing up the manufacturing costs of the downstream.
The automotive industry is facing a new round of cost pressure, especially traditional automakers and emerging electric vehicle companies that are accelerating their electrification transformation. The usage and value of connectors in electric vehicles are significantly higher than those in traditional fuel vehicles. This price increase may delay the cost reduction curve of some models and even affect the terminal pricing strategy.
Data center and communication equipment manufacturers will also feel the pressure. The price increase of key components such as high-speed backplane connectors will directly affect the manufacturing costs of servers and switches, and in the context of continuous growth in computing power demand, this cost transmission may ultimately affect the speed of the digitalization process.
The industrial automation field, as an important application market for connectors, is also unable to remain unaffected. During the critical period of intelligent upgrading in manufacturing, the increase in equipment costs may slow down the automation transformation plans of some enterprises.
TE’s price adjustment measures as the industry leader are likely to prompt other manufacturers in the same sector to follow suit. Global connector manufacturers such as Avnet, Molex, and Saki, who are also facing similar cost pressures, are unlikely to rule out announcing similar price adjustment plans in the coming months.
This round of price hikes may accelerate the consolidation process in the connector industry. Smaller and less cost-controlling enterprises will face greater pressure, while technology-leading and highly capable in supply chain management enterprises may seize this opportunity to expand their market share.
At the same time, the pressure of price hikes may stimulate technological innovation. Material substitution, process optimization, and design innovation will become important ways for enterprises to alleviate cost pressure. For example, finding substitutes for copper materials, developing more efficient manufacturing processes, designing more integrated connection solutions, etc., may accelerate these processes under this round of cost pressure.
TE’s global price increase this time is not just a price adjustment; it may also be the prelude to the reconfiguration of the connector industry and even the entire manufacturing value chain.
In the short term, downstream enterprises will face challenges in cost control and may need to re-examine their supply chain strategies, including diversifying supplier choices, adjusting inventory strategies, and optimizing product designs.
In the medium term, this round of cost pressure may drive the manufacturing industry towards more efficient and intelligent development. Industrial 4.0 technologies, intelligent manufacturing, and digital supply chain management will become increasingly important for helping enterprises cope with cost fluctuations and market changes.
In the long term, the regionalization and near-shoring trend of global supply chains may accelerate as a result. Driven by geopolitical and cost factors, manufacturers may pay more attention to the resilience and controllability of supply chains rather than simply pursuing cost minimization.
TE Connectivity’s full-line price increase is like a mirror, reflecting the real predicament of the global manufacturing industry under inflation, raw material fluctuations, and demand changes. For every participant in the industrial chain, this is both a challenge and an opportunity to reshape competitiveness and optimize the value chain. In the context of cost pressure becoming the new normal, innovation capabilities, supply chain management capabilities, and cost control capabilities will determine the survival and development space of enterprises more than ever before.
As the price adjustment date on January 5, 2026 approaches, the global connector industry is standing at a crossroads of change, and this change’s impact will extend far beyond connectors themselves, penetrating every corner of the modern economy driven by digitalization, electrification, and automation.