Not Much Bounce Back for Printed Circuit Board Industry

Manufacturing & Technology News

The North American printed circuit board industry is having difficulty recovering. “The estimated size of the North American printed circuit board market declined in 2014 for the fourth consecutive year,” according to the IPC—Association Connecting Electronics Industries.

In 2000, the North American printed circuit board (PCB) industry generated $10.9 billion in annual revenue. By 2014, total revenue for the industry dropped to $2.736 billion, down from $2.806 billion in 2013. The global market for PCBs reached $60.2 billion in 2014, up from $59.4 billion in 2013.

The North American industry share of the world market was 4.5 percent.

“Companies based in Taiwan, Japan and South Korea are responsible for more than two-thirds of world PCB production,” says IPC director of market research Sharon Starr. “These and other companies around the world are powering the impressive growth of PCB production in southeast Asia.“ The biggest U.S. market for printed circuit boards is now aerospace and defense, surpassing communications in 2014.

IPC forecasts modest growth for domestic PCB production from 2015 through 2017.