Taiwan has become the manufacturing powerhouse of the global consumer electronics industry. Its product scope includes personal computers, tablet PCs, smart phones, gaming consoles, digital cameras and more.

These broad ranges of products are not only manufactured in Taiwan, but also in mainland China and other overseas countries. Its supply chain infrastructure for materials and components is second to none, and the printed circuit industry is a crucial part of the supply chain.

Taiwanese circuit board manufacturers have been the primary source for circuit boards since 2010. For this reason, many analysts consider the Taiwanese to be the barometer when predicting business trends for the global electronics market. Since the turn of the century, total shipments grew year over year, with the exception of 2009. Volume continues to grow for the printed circuit industry, but is growing at a slower rate comparing year-over-year. Last year’s growth was relatively flat, and this year is down compared with last year.

Manufacturers for printed circuit materials are posting similar volume trends and are also showing negative growth compared with last year. The consumer electronics industry has witnessed a phenomenal growth globally since 2009. Why is it shrinking now? Well, all segments within the industry are pretty much saturated and there just isn’t enough demand or innovative products to support double-digit growth rates. Personal computers sales are negative year-over-year, and sales for tablet PCs, the new face for mobile devices, are slowing to a standstill. Sales of smartphones, once considered the staple for consumer electronics, have slowed to single digit-volumes and will be even lower this year. Digital cameras sales continue to shrink by almost 30% every year for obvious reasons. Sales of flat panel TVs, the basic consumer electronics product, will decline this year. Sales for every consumer electronic product are trending downward.

The Taiwanese electronics industry is very resilient and fast to act. It expanded into alternative markets during the last recession. What can will it expand into this time? Several companies are looking into the automobile market, and EMS manufacturers are pursuing wearable devices such as the Apple Watch. The Taiwan Printed Circuit Association (TPCA) announced it will send a significant delegation to Japan during JPCA Show this week in Tokyo. This could be very interesting.

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

DKN Research Newsletter #1614, Micro Electronics & Packaging, May 29, 2016 (English Edition)

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Headlines of the Week

1. Teijin developed a polycarbonate resin for optical lens of digital cameras. The new resin has a high refraction rate with a heat resistance.

2. Sumitomo Metal Mining started a recycling business for scandium, one of rare earth element for fuel cell batteries.

3. Panasonic sold the first vegetable plant system with artificial lighting system for low potassium lettuce.

4. AIST developed a prototype model of a new flat panel display without dead angle for public displays.

5. Hitachi rolled out a high-speed CO2 laser marker “LM-C300 Series,” which introduces a high efficiency cooling system.

6. Nidec developed the world's smallest camera module, with 16Mp, for mobile equipment. Dimensions are 8.8 x 8.5 x 4.2mm, F1.9.

7. Asahi Kasei commercialized a new deep UV LED device “Klaran” with large capacity for pasteurization equipment. Wave length:250 – 280nm.

8. Tohoku University developed a large capacity anode with large organic molecule for all solid state lithium ion batteries.

9. Yamagata University founded a venture company called Future Ink to commercialize a flexible sensor developed with printing process.

10. Hitachi Chemical commercialized a new, next-generation reliable lead battery called “Tuflong G3” for idling stop of small automobiles.

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