Data centres are turning copper into a hot commodity

Copper bottlenecks risk delaying ASEAN data centre buildouts

The rush to construct AI-ready data centres across Southeast Asia is shifting from a real estate play to a heavy industrial supply chain challenge. Copper is critical for electrical wiring, cooling systems, and grid connections. As capacity buildouts accelerate, operators and engineering contractors must secure raw material pipelines much earlier in the planning cycle to prevent equipment delivery delays.

Infrastructure developers typically underprice commodity inflation in their initial capex projections. Rising copper costs directly impact the price of transformers, switchgear, and power distribution units. If procurement teams fail to hedge or lock in long-term supply contracts, margin compression will hit project yields before the first server rack goes live.

Investment committees must stress-test data centre capex models against physical supply chain lead times and commodity price shocks rather than assuming static equipment costs.