The Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trading and Industry (METI) released June’s production data for the printed circuit board industry. We now have a six month snapshot for sales in 2013, and can forecast second-half results.

Total volume shipped in June was 1.06 million square meters, and revenue for the same period was 41.47 billion yen; this represents increases of 2.5% and 4.1%, respectively, compared with the previous month. Growth is negligible, however, when compared year-over-year, volume as declined 25.4% and revenue declined 21.7% for the same month.

Year to date numbers came in at 6.17 million square meters for volume and 234.24 billion yen for revenue. This represents a decline of 27.4% and 24.1% respectively. The Japanese printed circuit industry is suffering a worse year than 2009 – this was the year after the global recession. The Japanese Government continues to report about a remarkable rebound to the economy; however, it is mainly affecting financials. The Tokyo stock market took a breather after the landslide victory for the governing liberal democrats in the parliamentary elections in July.

The Japanese electronics and circuit board industry show no signs of recovery. Sales of core products that include flat panel TVs, cellular phones and digital cameras continue to show weakness and are down compared to the previous year. Printed circuit board demand is down since Japanese PCB manufacturers supply electronics companies for the aforementioned products. Exports are also weakened despite the declining yen. Flex circuit manufacturers and substrate manufacturers enjoyed healthy exports until the global electronics market entered a long economic slump. Add in some stiff competition from Taiwan and Korea and you can see why there is pressure on sales for Japanese manufacturers.  The circuit board industry in Taiwan is alive and well. It has infiltrated the Japanese market, helped by the weak yen.

The Japanese circuit board industry is looking at a 20% reduction in sales for 2013 compared with the previous year absent a significant rebound in business. This scenario is similar to the one felt within the American circuit board industry when the IT bubble burst in 2001. I think only the strong will survive, but they will survive.

“Those who wish to sing, always find a song.”

Dominique K. Numakura, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
DKN Research, www.dknresearchllc.com

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Headlines of the Week (Contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for further information.)

1. Showa Denko (major chemical company in Japan) will install a new manufacturing equipment of ethyl acetate to satisfy the strong demand of electronic materials with an annual capacity of 100,000 tons.

2. Toshiba (major electronics & electrical company in Japan) received a order of heavy particle beam irradiation system with the first super conductor magnet from NIRS (National Institute of Radiological Science) for cancer treatment.

3. Taiyo Yuden (major component manufacturer in Japan) made a new product category of  Reliable Components that pass AEC-Q200 for automobiles and industrial applications.

4. Kyocera acquired Toppan NEC Circuit Solution, one of the major circuit board manufacturers in Japan.

5. Panasonic  developed a new secondary battery series “CadNica GT.” The new batteries work under severe circumstances at -40C.

6. Samsung Electronics agreed to acquire Novaled, German OLED manufacturer for 260 million euros.

7. SEAJ (Industry organization in Japan) said July bookings of FPD manufacturing equipment in Japan declined 44% from the previous month. The B/B ratio dropped to 0.45.

8. STATS ChipPAC (IC packaging firm in Singapore) established a 0.3 mm height with embedded wafer level BGA technology “eWLB.”

9. Ricoh rolled out a new A4 size hybrid color office machine “RICOH MP C305 SP” with a print speed of 30 sheets per min.

10. Innolux (major display panel supplier in Taiwan) will ship over one million unit of 39” and 40” HD LCD panels for Ultra HD TVs. Innolux has a 70% global market share in this market.

11. Sony commercialized a new digital camera series Alpha NEX-5T with NFC (near field communication) capability for quick data transfer to the other mobile devices.

DKN Research Newsletter #1322, August 25, 2013

Electronic Packaging Industry News from Japan & Asia
(www.dknresearchllc.com)

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Have you registered for PCB West, the Silicon Valley's largest printed circuit board trade show? Sept. 24-26, at the Santa Clara Convention Center. www.pcbwest.com