What Is The Status Of The Circuit Board Industry in 2022

With the development of the electronic information industry, the downstream application fields of the printed circuit board industry are becoming more and more diversified. The application fields involve communication electronics, consumer electronics, computers, automotive electronics, industrial control, medical equipment, national defense and aerospace and other social sectors of the economy.

Therefore, the periodicity of the circuit board PCB industry is less affected by a single downstream industry, and its periodicity is mainly reflected in the fluctuation of the macro economy and the overall development of the electronic information industry.

The data shows that the output value of printed circuit boards in my country has increased from US$29.716 billion in 2017 to US$35.249 billion in 2020, with an average annual compound growth rate of 5.9%, which is higher than the global average growth level. With the rise of domestic brands of printed circuit boards in China, it is expected that the output value of printed circuit boards in my country will reach US$38.936 billion in 2022.

According to the analysis of the "2022-2027 China Circuit Board Industry In-depth Research and Investment Prospect Forecast Research Report" by the Institute of Academia Sinica:

On the whole, the current pattern of the circuit board industry is relatively scattered. There are two main reasons for this phenomenon. On the one hand, the downstream application fields of printed circuit boards are extensive and diverse, and the products are highly customized. On the other hand, there are great differences in the production processes and machinery and equipment required for PCB products of different types and application fields, and it is difficult to produce across types.

From the perspective of subdivided products, the output value of multi-layer boards accounts for the highest proportion in the entire PCB industry.

In my country's printed circuit board subdivision products, multi-layer boards account for the largest proportion, reaching 45.97%, far exceeding other products; followed by flexible boards, accounting for 16.68%; HDI accounted for 16.59%. In addition, the proportions of double-sided, single-sided, and package substrates were 11.34%, 6.13%, and 3.29%, respectively.

Circuit board industry investment prospects

From a global perspective, with the advantages of the Asian region, especially China in terms of labor force, policy orientation, and industrial agglomeration, the focus of the global PCB industry continues to shift to Asia, gradually forming a new pattern with Asia as the center and other regions as the supplement. Asia, especially mainland China, has become the main production base for global PCB and its high-end product HDI.

The current trend of overall consumer electronics is to develop in the direction of high intelligence, thinness and portability, and this development trend has continuously increased the requirements for PCB products in consumer electronics. According to public information, the largest PCB product in mobile terminals is HDI board, which accounts for more than 40%. At present, my country is vigorously promoting consumer electronic products such as 5G mobile phones and computers. It is foreseeable that high-end HDI products in the future will rapidly increase. The trend of higher integration, lighter weight and more space saving of components in mobile terminals will further promote the upgrade and development of HDI boards and RF boards.

It is expected that the trend of transferring the circuit board industry to mainland China will continue in the future, and the industry concentration will continue to increase. From the perspective of regional markets, the Chinese market has outperformed other regions, and the compound growth rate of China's PCB industry output value in the next few years will still be better than other regions in the world.