Expectations for an upturn in electronics component demand have been pushed out to the second half of 2020, and the road to recovery passes directly through global trade policy, leading analysts say. The outlook for Q4 is grim as component demand deteriorates further, Morgan Stanley said in its Q3 distribution survey. “The narrative of a…
IPC’s 2019 Annual Report on the North American PCB Industry, published last week, shows that the PCB industry in North America has turned a corner. For the first time in five years, domestic PCB production grew in 2018. North America’s PCB market also grew last year by nearly eight percent, solidifying the turnaround that began…
Editor’s note: Following the news of possible tariffs on goods imported from Mexico – and the ongoing trade war with China – EPSNews’ sister publication EBN reached out to a few friends and colleagues from the electronics manufacturing services (EMS) world to find out what they and their customers think of this thorny issue. This…
Editor’s note on Special Project U.S.-China Trade War Damages Done: A permanent trade war with China has already thrust the supply chain in a mad scramble. Procurement costs have increased; partnerships have been severed; and companies have been forced to relocate manufacturing. Still, some companies see the conflict as a path toward differentiation President Trump’s…
Responding to industry demand and member feedback, IPC created a new certification for company subject matter experts on IPC Standards. Companies need staff that understand IPC Standards at a deep level. The Certified Standards Expert (CSE) will possess a high level of expertise and serve as an in-house expert on IPC Standards. A CSE is…
Even as the electronics industry roared through 2017 and 2018, manufacturers bemoaned a lack of skilled labor. It’s been a recurrent theme in the Institute for Supply Management’s monthly factory index, and now the European Union (EU) fears its workforce will be stressed as electronics employment grows. A shortage of skilled workers is the industry’s…
The proliferation of tighter microvia densities and signal integrity requirements in printed boards within the electronics industry has revealed reliability concerns with microvia structures in high performance products. A number of IPC OEM member companies have approached IPC with examples of microvia failures in high-profile hardware that were not observed until after bare printed board…
Editor’s Note: This is the first of two articles examining the impact of tariffs — positive and negative–on the electronics industry. It feels like the U.S.-China tariff-and-trade war has been waging so long we’ve forgotten how it started, but its goals remain the same. The Trump administration is pressuring China to change its behavior toward…
IPC — Association Connecting Electronics Industries® announced today the December 2018 findings from its North American Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Statistical Program. Sales growth bounced back in December and remained solid for the year. The book-to-bill ratio also strengthened in December and stands at 1.05. Total North American PCB shipments in December 2018 were up 7.7…
The North American electronics manufacturing services (EMS) industry has an $81 billion served available market with great potential for further growth, according to IPC’s 2018 Annual Report and Forecast for the North American EMS Industry, published this week. An analysis of the market indicates that the North American EMS industry has penetrated only about 28…