The following are 8 insights into the printed circuit boards industry that you should know.
The PCB Market
The global PCB market size is $67.94 billion according to Beroe, the market intelligence experts. The Asia Pacific rules with market size of over $61 billion while Europe’s market size is more than $2 billion. The main cost drivers of the PCB include a number of layers, size of the board, technical factors, size of holes, number of holes, and complexity. While the market is fragmented, there are 10 key suppliers that account for over 35% of the market. The top global suppliers in the printed circuit board industry include TTM Technologies, Sumitomo Denko, ZD Tech, and Unimicron. The competition among the top suppliers is high and this will continue well into the future.
End-Use Industry
Beroe has found that over 30% of the printed circuit boards market share is of computers, business, and retail. 20% of the market share is for consumer electronics while 28% of the market share is of telecom and communications. The automotive industry has a market share of 10% while the medical and industrial industries have a market share of 9%. The remaining 3% of the printed circuit board industry market share is of military, government, and defense. Electronic manufacturing giants will continue to drive PCB growth. The growth in demand in regions such as Japan, South Korea, China, and Taiwan will be another key growth driver.
How The Applications Will Define Growth
When you put together the end-use industries of telecom, retail, business, and computers, you see that about 60% of the global printed circuit board industry will be ruled by these. This will continue into the future because developing countries will continue to have a high demand for PCB in these industries. Moreover, technological developments will further push the demand in these regions. The, automotive industry, in particular is of interest because the growth of PCB will be because of this. As people are looking for advanced features it will further accelerate the growth for PCBs.
Opportunities
There are numerous opportunities available and while it may seem like a distant dream, constant amelioration is key for the growth of the printed circuit board industry. For example, using advanced levels of manufacturing ways and utilizing certain development strategies will prove to be beneficial. For example, while box manufacturing, agile manufacturing, virtual reality, and augmented reality assembly, and sustainability are some such examples.
Drivers
There are many key drivers for the printed circuit board industry growth. The first is recycling PCBs the measures which have been taken by many governments. This will help drive the growth of the industry. Another important driver of the printed circuit board industry is the digitalization across the globe. As developing countries’ demand for PCBs increases, so will the growth. This holds true for under-developed countries too. The third main driver is the printed circuit board technology and design development. As innovation is improving, the cost is likely to decrease while maximizing the utilization. This will help further improve the growth of the market.
Constraints
One of the constraints that might stunt the growth of the printed circuit board industry is rising labor costs along with utility costs. Two vital cost contributors of PCB are utility cost and labor cost according to Beroe as these attribute to about 80% of the production cost. Although this depends on the complexity and other factors, these costs are important nonetheless. As labor costs are becoming higher and so is electricity, it means that manufacturers will get a lower profit margin compared to before. Another constraint is President Trump’s restrictions on external sourcing which means that manufacturers might suffer as a result.
Threats
While the growth of the market might seem quite promising, there are some factors to consider. One of them is cybersecurity which is of utmost importance. Since the data networks are increasing by the day, so is the threat. When sensitive data is stored there is always a concern with regards to how safe it is. People with ill intentions can pose a serious threat to the printed circuit board industry. Another cause of concern is supply chain breach which means when counterfeit components are used to create the printed circuit board.
Forecast
Beroe’s market intelligence report estimates that the global PCB and PCBA market will grow at a CAGR of 4%. This means it will likely reach over $77 billion by the end of 2020. Since the Asia Pacific dominated in the past, this trend is likely to continue as the PCB market size increases in the future due to an increase in demand from the electronic and automotive industries. The main driving point is that technical maturity has been reached at this point and in the future, there is nothing else that will substitute the PCB market. China is going to lead when it comes to printed circuit board production in the future too.