TAOYUAN CITY, TAIWAN – Taiwanese PCB makers saw their combined first quarter output value in Taiwan and China surge 26.7% year-over-year to NT$173.4 billion (US$6.1 billion), a record high for the same quarter, according to Taiwan Printed Circuit Association.

The makers now maintain 63.2% of production in China, and their second quarter production is estimated to see a slight sequential fall to NT$170.7 billion.

TPCA said Taiwan's production growth for rigid-flex boards slipped in the first quarter compared to the same period in 2020, but many other segments, including flexible PCBs, multilayer boards and HDI offerings, posted increases of more than 20%.

IC substrates were down slightly, with output growth of 18.6% during the quarter, which represented a double-digit increase for the fifth consecutive quarter, however. Growth momentum is expected to continue throughout 2021 as ABF substrate supply will remain short of demand.

Some variables may affect production and sales performance in the months ahead, TPCA said. Among them are increasing prices for raw materials, including copper foil, glass cloth and epoxy resin.

Currently, over a third of PCB shipments are for handset/communication applications, and makers are concerned about whether the ongoing handset sales slump in India because of Covid-19 will affect their shipments long-term. Chinese PCB makers will experience the impact most, as they mainly offer PCBs for lower-end handsets sold in India.

Taiwanese PCB makers are also facing increasing pandemic, water and power shortages and an unstable component supply, threatening to affect manufacturing operations in Taiwan.

Ed.: NT$1 = US$0.036

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