TAIWAN – The second quarter is typically slow for consumer electronics, but PCB fabricators are seeing signs that the demand for handsets PCBs is up slightly in Q2 based on stronger sales in June.

Compeq shows flat sales for May but booking for June and the following months show slight increases. A growth rate in the range of 5% is anticipated. Compeq shipped 40 million handset PCBs in Q1, and expects to ship 43 million in Q2 based on current order patterns. Compeq, who shipped 160 million units in 2007,  is expecting moderate gains for 2008.

Unitech Printed Circuit Board in contrast saw declining sales through May but anticipates slight gains through the end of 2008. The company shipped 27 million handset PCBs in Q1.