PCB Industry Overview and Forecast

Production Shifted East

Since the middle of the last century the global PCB industry layout has transferred from Europe and America leading to Asia leading with China taking an important role.

Output Figures

According to Prismark data mainland China PCB output increased from 14.251 billion US dollars in 2009 to 32.702 billion US dollars in 2018 which was 52.41 percent of global PCB output. China PCB output was expected to reach 42 billion US dollars by 2025.

Board Type Mix

Rigid circuit board is the first demand among the board types. Multiple layer board is 39 percent of rigid circuit board output and single and double layer is 14 percent. Flexible board is the second demand at about 21 percent of general output. HDI board is about 14 percent and packaging substrate about 12 percent.

Where High End Capacity Sits

PCB manufacturers from Taiwan South Korea and Japan remained the dominant suppliers of high level PCB product. Downstream enterprises in China including Huawei Lenovo and ZTE made progress in building top brands which stimulated PCB made in China.

New Growth Points

From 2017 onward 5G cloud computing and the smart car emerged as new economy growth points bringing new challenges and revolution to the PCB industry.

Equipment Consequence

Automatic and smart production leads the PCB industry upgrade. Drilling takes up the longest time of the whole PCB process and about 90 percent of drilling is performed by mechanical CNC drilling and routing machines which makes them the mainstream of PCB hole handling equipment. A good machine directly affects the final product quality and the cost.

Capital Pressure

Small and medium PCB manufacturers face capital issues while environmental protection policy also requires facility upgrades. Leading PCB enterprises have made progress through listing and financing.