In 2022, The Capacity Expansion Momentum Of High-end Circuit Boards Will Be High

The explosion of demand for 5G base stations + new energy vehicles has directly driven the expansion of high-end circuit board production capacity.

From the perspective of 5G base station construction, from 2018 to 2021, a total of 142.5 5G base stations were built. In 2022, the national construction target is expected to increase to more than 600,000. By the end of 2022, the total number of base stations will reach 2 million yuan.

At present, many provincial governments across the country have issued the "5G Leading the Development and Growth of the Digital Economy 2022 Action Plan" notice, setting the specific goal of completing the "14th Five-Year Plan" 5G base station construction task ahead of schedule by the end of 2023. With the support of the policy, the construction of 5G base stations in various provinces will be significantly accelerated. In 2022, the largest construction of 5G will be realized.

Statistics from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers show that in 2021, domestic sales of new energy vehicles will be 3.521 million, a year-on-year increase of 1.6 times, ranking first in the world for seven consecutive years. The output is equally astonishing. The domestic production of new energy vehicles in 2021 will reach 3.545 million units, with a market share of 13.4%, 8 percentage points higher than last year.

In the context of the upsurge of 5G base station construction and the booming production and sales of new energy vehicles, the demand for high-end circuit boards has surged, and domestic circuit board manufacturers have taken the opportunity to expand production capacity in the high-end market.

Since the beginning of 2022, leading board manufacturers, small and medium-sized high-end circuit board capacity expansion projects or strategic cooperation have continued to emerge, making 5G, semiconductors, and new energy vehicles a hot track, with players from all walks of life competing in the track market. Competition is intensifying.

In addition to large-scale expansion projects, some circuit board companies have set their sights on the stable supply of upstream high-end substrates.

The momentum of capacity expansion shows the following two characteristics:

1. The investment amount of circuit board projects has generally increased

The investment of the three strong circuit boards is 5.16 billion yuan. The project mainly produces high-level multi-layer high-precision circuit boards, which can achieve an annual output value of more than 5.5 billion yuan. Whether it is a listed company or a small and medium-sized enterprise, the investment amount of circuit board expansion projects will generally increase in 2022, which may be related to the overall upgrade of circuit board products in the industry and the increase in investment in technology research and development.

2. High-end circuit board capacity expansion is the mainstream

From January to February 2022, a total of 17 circuit board construction projects were counted. Among these 17 circuit board expansion projects, 14 projects mainly produced high-end circuit board products, accounting for 82.35%. The expansion of single-layer boards and double-sided boards gradually disappears in the market, and my country's high-end circuit board capacity expansion is becoming the mainstream of future industry development.

In addition, it is worth noting that the trend in the application field of high-end circuit boards. Among the 17 expanded circuit board projects, 3 projects are to produce chip packaging carrier boards, 4 projects are to produce 5G base stations and high-frequency communication products, and 2 projects mainly produce automotive PCB products.

It can be seen that in the future, semiconductors, 5G, and new energy vehicles will be the key application areas for circuit board companies to expand. Enterprises want to deploy emerging application fields, complete product upgrades, and create a new engine for profitable growth.

my country only started circuit board production in 1956, and it started much later than the United States, Japan, and South Korea. However, after the introduction of foreign circuit board companies with the help of manufacturing powerhouses, my country's circuit board production technology has rapidly transitioned from single-layer boards and double-sided boards. To the direction of high multi-layer high-precision circuit boards, IC substrates, high-end automotive flexible boards, etc.

At present, there are more than 2,800 circuit board companies in the world, and about 1,500 in mainland China. In addition, according to Prismark data, the output value of the global PCB industry in 2019 was about 61.34 billion US dollars, of which my country's PCB output value reached 32.9 billion US dollars, accounting for about 53.7% of the global market. In 2020, the total output value of my country's printed circuit boards reached about 352.49 One hundred million U.S. dollars. The output value of domestic circuit boards continues to grow steadily, and the transfer of global PCB production capacity to China is becoming more and more obvious.

Under the momentum of this capacity transfer and the blessing of "Made in China 2025", my country will develop into the largest concentration of high-end circuit board production capacity in the future.