TAOYUAN CITY, TAIWAN – Supply and demand of raw materials continues to plague the industry. However, with the continued demand for high-performance computing and automotive electronics, and the stay-at-home economy resulting from the pandemic, revenue of listed Taiwanese PCB companies grew at an annual rate of 16.8% year-over-year in May, up 1.1% sequentially, according to the Taiwan Printed Circuit Association. Total revenue of listed PCB material-related companies grew to over 70% in the same month.

On May 19, Taiwan entered a Level 3 Alert after the escalation of Covid-19. Although there were occasional reports of workers employed by Taiwanese PCB manufacturers becoming infected, and a cluster infection in a foreign labor dormitory at a Miaoli electronics factory, the epidemic has not yet resulted in factory closures and broken supply chains, according to TPCA.

According to IDC, PC sales (including desktops/laptops/workstations) in Taiwan in the first quarter of 2021 totaled 601,000 units, with an annual growth rate of 8.3%. Demand for PCs for home office and distance learning is expected to increase exponentially in the second quarter, driven by the demand for home office and distance learning.

In addition, according to the Department of Statistics of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, both indexes hit record highs for the same month, with an annual increase of 38.6% and 17.2%, respectively.

With the buildup and transition to 5G, coupled with the US infrastructure plan, growth in demand for high-performance computing, automotive electronics and other products, as well as the stay-at-home economy, are expected to boost export orders and continue production momentum of Taiwan's manufacturing industry.

Taiwan’s exports of FCBs and PCBs in May had an annual growth rate of 3.8% and 19.6%, respectively, indicating the production output was not affected by the pandemic. With strong demand for global 5G equipment and end-user products, the future is still promising, says TPCA, and will continue to drive the positive development of the raw materials and equipment industry.

According to results of a sample survey conducted in mid-May, up to 80% of TPCA’s members said they strictly implement health management monitoring within their companies, prohibit employees from performing off-site work on the client’s premises, and have suspended physical classes and meetings.

More than 70% of company members have initiated group work shifts or remote work measures. However, since the PCB industry is labor-intensive, except for indirect staff who can work from home, production line staff need to be onsite. According to the survey, the production line still needs at least 60-70% of manpower to maintain operations. Companies are reducing contact between staff in fixed areas of work, or where permitted by law, reducing the number of days of attendance but extending the number of work hours to achieve the practice of reducing the number of days of attendance but maintaining production.

According to the latest Ministry of Labor revised guidelines for foreign workers, it is mandatory to standardize measures such as ensuring work and living areas are separated into alternate time slots. At the same time, migrant workers from different employers should not be mixed or housed on the same premises, and cooperate with the government to implement quick screening and strengthen the protection network against outbreaks.

As of today, Taiwan is still in the Level 3 Alert.