Apple’s PCB supply group is not affected by the US-China trade war. In fact, the psychological impact on Compeq, Zing Ding Tech-KY, AOI equipment maker Machvision, and other companies is substantial. They anticipate that there will be a spike in demand in August, leading to a “peak season” with an upsurge in continuous production.
 

The US is officially planning to impose a 10% tariff on US$200 billion of goods manufactured in mainland China. These measures are expected to take effect after the end of public consultation, at the end of August. According to industry observations, the list currently does not cover the direct items manufactured by PCB factories, the interference of which is dominated by the psychological environment and will not likely affect actual operations during the coming peak season.
 

      Considering that the proportion of blank PCBs exports to the US from mainland China are not high, and that PCB production has a larger scale advantage on both sides of the strait, Zing Ding Tech has noted that its overall view on the peak season has not changed.
 

      Current high-end capacity Taiwan-funded PCB and IC carrier PCB manufacturers concentrated in Taiwan include Compeq, Flexium Interconnect, Unimicron, Kinsus, Jingshuo, etc. Due to the extensive PCB manufacturing process and substantial investment required, all manufacturers have already achieved a scale of production in their existing manufacturing facilities.

 

       Compeq has speculated that the current market situation still needs to be continuously observed. If the US is taxing the China-invested PCBs, Compeq’s major high-end processes will focus on Taiwan and there will be more growth opportunities instead. Tripod Technology has pointed out that the overall market demand is still good. The US-China trade war has had no impact on orders for automobile PCBs. The main reason lies in a customer-based international labor division where automobile PCBs for Europe are processed in mainland China on an OEM basis, and then sent to Europe for vehicle production. So the actual operating performance in the peak season will not be affected.
 

       Wang Guang-Shiah, President of Machvision, has mentioned that regardless of environmental circumstances, the company is currently enjoying a 30 to 40 percent growth in sales due to its continued stable physical development and market expansion, so it can still offset the external variables. In addition, the support for the semiconductor industry and 2025 projects on the mainland will also help drive new demand.
 

       Flexible copper clad laminate (FCCL) manufacturer TAIFLEX has observed that the electronic materials will enter their traditional peak season performance in Q3. The company will coordinate to produce high-frequency FCCLs for use in smart phones, primarily by China-based mobile phone brand factories, with the relevant brand customers to launch their flagship models during the year to cope with new demand. (News source: Economic Daily News)