TAIPEI -- The production value of Taiwanese printed circuit board fabricators across the China strait rose 1.7% year-over-year to NT$185.7 billion ($5.9 billion), the Taiwan Printed Circuit Association said today. 

Taiwan-based fabricators totaled NT$182.6 billion in the same quarter last year, the trade group added. Taiwanese companies’ overseas production in mainland China is about 63.6% of their total production value, estimated at NT$656.2 billion in 2019.

The results are better than expected, TPCA said, given the weak start to the year. Demand increased through the second half, especially for smartphones, TPCA added.

In the third quarter, total global shipments declined 3.2%. Demand for Bluetooth earphones and related products pushed rigid-flex demand up 54$ year-over-year, and rigid-flex production made up 4.1% of all sales, up from 2.7% in the same period last year. Demand for IC carriers also increased with semiconductor demand. High-end computing applications (such as base stations, AI, GPU, etc.) remained strong while demand for ABF carriers rose. Smartphone sales in the third quarter were flat versus a year ago, and demand for BT carriers grew 8%.

Automotive PCBs were flat on slower overall sales of cars.

With several factors in flux around the world, Taiwanese PCB industry’s production value in the second and third quarters of was not only better than expected, but also was higher than that of 2018.

TPCA expects 5G will become mainstream in 2020, which in turn will drive a revolution of smart mobile devices, smart factories, and B2B as well as B2C applications, and boost demand for various end-products.

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