The Machine · chip prices, output and parts
Prices for circuit boards and modules reach 2.3 times a year ago
What US makers charged in August 2026, against a year earlier, while chips cost 3% less.
BLS producer prices show what US makers charged, without seasonal adjustment. Circuit boards and modules include memory boards and loaded computer boards. BLS publishes no price index for memory chips or AI accelerators on their own. May to August 2026 are preliminary, and BLS revises them. BLS data to August 2026, retrieved 11 October 2026.
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Circuit boards and modules cost 2.6 times what they did in August 2022
producer price index · Aug 2022 = 100 · not adjusted for the season-
Chips −3% on a year earlier
-
Circuit boards and modules +132% on a year earlier
-
Storage drives +87% on a year earlier
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Servers 0% on a year earlier
The servers index has been 99.8 in every month since October 2025, so its flat line is not a reading of steady prices.
| Index | Aug 2026 | Aug 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chips NAICS 334413: integrated circuits, memory chips, microprocessors, diodes, transistors, solar cells and other optoelectronic devices. BLS PCU334413334413, base Dec 1998 = 100. | 28.5 p | 29.4 | −3% |
| Circuit boards and modules NAICS 334418: printed circuit boards with their chips and components mounted, among them memory boards and loaded computer boards. BLS PCU334418334418, base Dec 2003 = 100. | 211.7 p | 91.4 | +132% |
| Storage drives NAICS 334112: computer disk drives, USB flash drives, and tape storage and backup units. BLS PCU334112334112, base Dec 2004 = 100. | 117.2 p | 62.6 | +87% |
| Servers NAICS 334111: mainframes, medium-scale systems, and UNIX and PC servers. BLS PCU3341113341115, base Feb 2023 = 100. | 99.8 p | 99.9 | 0% |
Every month as a table, Aug 2022 = 100
| Month | Chips | Circuit boards and modules | Storage drives | Servers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 2026 | 92.2 p | 257.8 p | 188.1 p | 97.4 p |
| Jul 2026 | 94.1 p | 228.4 p | 187.0 p | 97.4 p |
| Jun 2026 | 96.7 p | 228.3 p | 164.3 p | 97.4 p |
| May 2026 | 97.8 p | 228.2 p | 127.2 p | 97.4 p |
| Apr 2026 | 99.1 | 228.3 | 119.6 | 97.4 |
| Mar 2026 | 97.6 | 183.4 | 115.9 | 97.4 |
| Feb 2026 | 97.6 | 171.7 | 115.9 | 97.4 |
| Jan 2026 | 95.9 | 120.7 | 113.8 | 97.4 |
| Dec 2025 | 96.1 | 120.5 | 104.5 | 97.4 |
| Nov 2025 | 96.0 | 120.4 | 104.5 | 97.4 |
| Oct 2025 | 96.0 | 112.2 | 104.3 | 97.4 |
| Sep 2025 | 95.4 | 111.3 | 100.4 | 97.7 |
| Aug 2025 | 95.2 | 111.3 | 100.5 | 97.5 |
| Jul 2025 | 96.5 | 86.4 | 99.5 | 98.5 |
| Jun 2025 | 96.8 | 86.2 | 97.9 | 96.8 |
| May 2025 | 97.1 | 90.3 | 99.5 | 96.8 |
| Apr 2025 | 97.9 | 92.3 | 99.3 | 96.8 |
| Mar 2025 | 98.2 | 94.0 | 98.2 | 96.7 |
| Feb 2025 | 97.6 | 93.8 | 97.9 | 96.7 |
| Jan 2025 | 97.5 | 96.6 | 97.9 | 96.7 |
| Dec 2024 | 99.0 | 99.4 | 96.9 | 97.7 |
| Nov 2024 | 99.5 | 99.1 | 96.9 | 97.6 |
| Oct 2024 | 99.5 | 91.3 | 95.5 | 98.2 |
| Sep 2024 | 98.7 | 89.5 | 95.5 | 98.2 |
| Aug 2024 | 98.6 | 89.5 | 96.9 | 96.7 |
| Jul 2024 | 99.1 | 89.1 | 96.9 | 93.9 |
| Jun 2024 | 102.1 | 87.1 | 96.9 | 95.4 |
| May 2024 | 102.8 | 87.4 | 97.5 | 95.2 |
| Apr 2024 | 103.0 | 87.8 | 98.7 | 96.6 |
| Mar 2024 | 102.4 | 88.2 | 98.7 | 95.5 |
| Feb 2024 | 102.6 | 88.1 | 98.7 | 95.9 |
| Jan 2024 | 102.7 | 88.1 | 98.7 | 96.2 |
| Dec 2023 | 102.2 | 87.6 | 98.7 | 96.0 |
| Nov 2023 | 102.7 | 87.6 | 98.7 | 94.3 |
| Oct 2023 | 102.6 | 87.4 | 97.4 | 94.3 |
| Sep 2023 | 103.0 | 87.2 | 97.4 | 94.9 |
| Aug 2023 | 102.3 | 87.2 | 97.4 | 95.5 |
| Jul 2023 | 102.1 | 87.2 | 97.4 | 91.7 |
| Jun 2023 | 102.3 | 86.9 | 98.3 | 91.7 |
| May 2023 | 102.1 | 86.9 | 100.6 | 94.5 |
| Apr 2023 | 102.4 | 92.3 | 100.6 | 97.4 |
| Mar 2023 | 103.3 | 92.3 | 102.0 | 97.5 |
| Feb 2023 | 103.5 | 92.4 | 102.0 | 97.7 |
| Jan 2023 | 102.9 | 94.6 | 102.0 | 96.8 |
| Dec 2022 | 103.2 | 97.6 | 103.5 | 94.8 |
| Nov 2022 | 103.1 | 98.0 | 102.5 | 92.8 |
| Oct 2022 | 102.8 | 97.7 | 100.0 | 96.6 |
| Sep 2022 | 100.7 | 99.7 | 100.0 | 97.2 |
| Aug 2022 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
p: preliminary. Preliminary. All indexes are subject to monthly revisions up to four months after original publication.
US chip output rises 12% in a year, capacity 16%
index · 2017 = 100 · seasonally adjustedAs a table
| Month | Output | Capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 2017 | 95.0 | 134.5 |
| Jan 2018 | 106.5 | 126.7 |
| Jan 2019 | 103.8 | 137.2 |
| Jan 2020 | 110.9 | 145.2 |
| Jan 2021 | 120.3 | 137.1 |
| Jan 2022 | 125.8 | 139.1 |
| Jan 2023 | 130.0 | 155.5 |
| Jan 2024 | 139.4 | 177.6 |
| Jan 2025 | 158.1 | 198.7 |
| Jan 2026 | 176.7 | 238.3 |
| Aug 2026 | 190.1 | 257.1 |
At 190.1, output was 1.9 times its 2017 average, close to its high of 190.3 in July 2026. An index of real output for NAICS 3344, which holds circuit boards and other components as well as chips. Seasonally adjusted, and revised with each monthly release.
Output was 73.9% of capacity in August 2026, against 76.5% a year earlier and an average of 79.1% from 1972 to 2025
As a table
| Month | Utilization |
|---|---|
| Jan 2017 | 70.7% |
| Jan 2018 | 84.1% |
| Jan 2019 | 75.6% |
| Jan 2020 | 76.4% |
| Jan 2021 | 87.8% |
| Jan 2022 | 90.4% |
| Jan 2023 | 83.7% |
| Jan 2024 | 78.5% |
| Jan 2025 | 79.5% |
| Jan 2026 | 74.2% |
| Aug 2026 | 73.9% |
High-bandwidth memory is the largest cost in every AI chip
Epoch AI estimates · 2024 and 2025 · US dollarsThese are Epoch AI estimates from chip volumes and bills of materials, with a 90% range for each; no company reports these figures. Bars are medians, and the line under each bar is the range.
NVIDIA
- HBM $32.8 bn $30.6–$35.9
- CoWoS packaging $8.5 bn $6.3–$10.6
- Logic dies $7.6 bn $6.5–$8.7
- Other parts $5.3 bn $5.2–$5.4
- HBM $3.8 bn $3.5–$4.1
- CoWoS packaging $1.6 bn $1.2–$2.0
- Logic dies $1.4 bn $1.2–$1.7
- Other parts $1.5 bn $1.4–$1.6
AMD
- HBM $4.3 bn $3.9–$4.7
- CoWoS packaging $1.3 bn $0.9–$1.6
- Logic dies $0.4 bn $0.3–$0.5
- Other parts $0.5 bn $0.5–$0.6
Amazon
- HBM $2.8 bn $2.6–$3.1
- CoWoS packaging $0.9 bn $0.7–$1.2
- Logic dies $0.7 bn $0.6–$0.8
- Other parts $0.7 bn $0.7–$0.8
For NVIDIA, an estimated $32.8 bn of HBM (Epoch’s range $30.6 to $35.9 bn), more than its logic dies, packaging and other parts together. In the fourth quarter of 2025, NVIDIA’s chips took an estimated 75% of the world’s HBM supply (Epoch’s range 62% to 93%).
- HBM
- High-bandwidth memory (HBM2e, HBM3 and HBM3e)
- CoWoS packaging
- TSMC CoWoS packaging, which joins the logic dies to the memory
- Logic dies
- Logic wafers at TSMC’s 3 nm and 5 nm classes
- Other parts
- Substrate, board and final assembly
Sources
chips.csv Every dataset → Status → Glossary →- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Producer Price Index by industry, series PCU334413334413, PCU334418334418, PCU334112334112, PCU3341113341115, to August 2026, retrieved 11 October 2026, public domain. What each industry holds is from the U.S. Census Bureau’s NAICS 2022 definitions.
- Federal Reserve Board, G.17 Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization, G3344, release of 18 September 2026, public domain.
- Epoch AI, Data on AI chip components, retrieved 11 October 2026, CC BY 4.0.