FRANKFURT, GERMANY – According to the ZVEI, the worldwide PCB market grew by 8.7% in 2007 (as compared to the previous year) to $51.5 billion. The organization states that for 2008, a global growth of over 8% is predicted.

According to the organization, the largest revenue share in 2007, at about 73%, was reported for Japan and Southeast Asia (including China). Japan accounted for $9.5 billion (up 3.8%) and Southeast Asia for $28.1 billion of revenue. The largest increase was reported for Southeast Asia, which at $2.7 billion, was an increase of 10.6%.

The report states that the American market grew by 3.3% to $6.3 billion.

Also, according to the report, 2007 was the first year that Europe outpaced America. The market volume in Europe rose 14.3% to $6.4 billion, as compared to the U.S.’s previously stated $6.3 billion.

The organization cited the high price levels for raw materials in 2007, and its affect on the industry, claiming that copper and crude oil prices were of greatest concern in countries such as China and India, given their high demand for raw materials, and that the rise in crude oil prices also raised the costs of paints, epoxy resins, films and resists.

The ZVEI report states that while production volume in Europe in 2007 declined 8% year-over-year to €2.5 billion ($3.86 million) and the number of registered manufacturers declined by 7%, the European PCB industry as a whole employed about 24,000 at the end of 2007, which is unchanged from 2006.
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