Printed Circuit Boards: Technologies and Global Markets

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Oct 05, 2016, 03:16 ET

NEW YORK, Oct. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- This BCC Research report forecasts the market size for PCBs used in end applications, including mobile phones and tablets, networking devices, instrumentation and scientific research, among others. Forecasts given from 2015 to 2021.

Use this report to:

Receive an overview of the market by type, geographical region and end application.
Analyze the global PCB market and the characteristics of PCB adoption in end applications.
Learn about the U.S. patents granted in areas relevant to PCBs.

Highlights

The global market for printed circuit boards (PCB) reached nearly $61.5 billion in 2015.
The market is expected to reach nearly $73.8 billion by 2021 from $63.5 billion in 2016, increasing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.1% from 2016 to 2021.
Networking devices application of this market is expected to grow from nearly $15.8 billion in 2016 to $17.5 billion in 2021 at a CAGR of 2.1% for the period 2016-2021. Computing and storage application of this market will grow from $14.1 billion in 2016 to nearly $15.5 billion in 2021 at a CAGR of 1.8% for the period 2016-2021.

INTRODUCTION

Printed circuit boards (PCBs) are ubiquitous markers of the semiconductor revolution although they predate the advent of modern-day electronics by several decades. PCBs provide a platform for the placement and interconnection of diverse components, modules and subsystems in electronic devices. They are simpler to visualize and easier to understand technologically compared to their sophisticated components. However, the complexity of PCBs lies more in the distinctive nature of their market dynamics than in their technical underpinning.

Semiconductor components and the devices housing them have been characterized by rapid intellectual property (IP) generation and subsequent monetization. This pace has been facilitated by the success of stakeholders that have constricted the size of transistor features in semiconductors. PCBs have not experienced comparable evolution of their hardware. The reasons for the slow development of PCB hardware are manifold. The dependence of PCB manufacturing on a wide range of raw materials is among the top reasons. This dependence sets PCBs apart from semiconductor integrated circuits (ICs), which are overwhelmingly dependent on silicon. The supply and demand dynamics of silicon is established, and there is little supply-side pressure. PCB manufacturing, on the other hand, is vulnerable to changes in the supply of raw materials.

Demand alone does not dictate the pricing of PCBs as supply-side constraints also play an important role. This report highlights the importance of the distinctive dynamics of supply and demand on the prospects of the PCB market. This report does not consider the semiconductor packaging substrate market a part of the PCB market. While packages have close correlation with PCBs, they are distinct entities. There is no clear product or solution that has successfully bridged the divide between IC packages and the underlying PCBs. This report measures PCB shipments in terms of area instead of actual units. This is an accurate means of measurement as the pricing of a PCB directly correlates with its area. A board with dimensions of 70 millimeters (mm) by 50 mm (i.e., 35 square centimeters) is considered a single PCB unit.

STUDY GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

This study's goals and objectives are:

To measure and forecast the market size for PCBs in terms of dollar sales and shipment volumes.

To break down the overall PCB market along the following individual end applications:

Mobile phones and tablets.
Networking devices.
Instrumentation and scientific research.
Medicine.
Defense, surveillance and aviation.
Energy.
Consumer electronics.
Computing and storage.
Industrial.
Automotive and transportation.
Retail

To break down the individual end-application markets along the following PCB types:

One- or two-layer rigid.
Multilayer rigid.
Microvia.
Flex.
Rigid-flex

To break down end-application markets along the following geographic regions:

The Americas
Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).
Asia-Pacific (APAC).

To analyze the stakeholder landscape for PCB research and commercialization activities.

To analyze patent activity related to PCBs
Read the full report: http://www.reportlinker.com/p03944193-summary/view-report.html

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