PUNE, INDIA – The global printed circuit board industry is projected to continue shrinking in 2016, with a market size of $55.3 billion, down 3% year-over-year, says RnRMarketResearch.com.

The research firm expects there will be no substitute for smartphones to drive the PCB market until 2020.

However, the global automotive PCB market was $5.28 billion in 2015 and is expected to grow 8.3% to $5.72 billion in 2016 and 8.2% to $61.9 million in 2017, primarily because of the impetus of millimeter-wave radar to RF board, connected vehicle to multilayer board, and chassis electronization to metal substrate, says the firm.  

According to Apple's suppliers, the iPhone 7S/8 launch in 2017 will see some substantial upgrades with substrate-like HDI replacing commonly used HDI, so as to import system-in-package technology, says the research firm. Apple has asked suppliers to send samples in the third quarter, attracting IC substrate vendors.

Register now for PCB West, the Silicon Valley's largest trade show for the printed circuit industry, taking place Sept. 13-15 in Santa Clara: PCBWEST.COM