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Electronics manufacturing services providers from across the globe assembled 172,356 PCBs on average during 2012, according to IPC — Association Connecting Electronics Industries. In its latest report on quality benchmarks for the EMS industry, the IPC also reported the median number of components placed by EMS companies was 22,536,199.
The IPC Study of Quality Benchmarks for the Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS) Industry for 2013 provides data to EMS companies interested in comparing their key 2012 quality metrics to those of other EMS providers by company size, region and type of product. For example, 85 percent of the components placed used surface-mount technology (SMT) and 15 percent used plated through-hole (PTH).
The survey-based study covers production data, assembly attributes, yields, defect rates (DPMO), customer returns, supplier performance, customer satisfaction and certification data. The survey sample includes 41 EMS companies from North America, Europe and Asia with annual sales ranging from under $10 million to over $1 billion.
Respondents reported on the number of printed circuit board (PCB) assemblies completed in 2012, and internal yields for key processes, including surface mounting, wave soldering and selective soldering. Customer satisfaction metrics regarding returns and on-time delivery were also provided.
The report is free to companies that participated in the survey. It is available for sale to IPC members for $675 and the standard industry price is $1,350. For more information or to purchase the report, visit www.ipc.org/EMS-Benchmark-2013.
