According to statistics released by the Taiwan Printed Circuit Board Association (TPCA), the output value of Taiwanese PCB manufacturers across the strait in 2018 is forecasted to reach NT$651.4 billion (about US$21.601 billion), an increase of 5% against NT$619.2 billion in 2017. This is once again a record and a new historical high. Currently, the percentage of Taiwanese PCB manufacturers in China amounts to 62%, still leading the rest of the world with its market share of overall output value amounting to 31% globally.

As indicated by the TPCA as it reviews the development of Taiwan's PCB industry in 2018, it has benefitted from the excellent performance of new technology products such as the flexible printed circuit (FLP), rigid-flex PCB, and SLP. They have promoted the growth of mobile phones, consumer electronics, and vehicle electronics. Besides, the growth in the digital economy has, at the same time, stimulated the improvement of Netcom's server market. With the launch of brand-new models of major mobile phones in the second half of the year, the demand for high-end circuit boards has increased significantly, and that has, in addition, pushed the value of Taiwan’s PCB production to a record high. In view of the prospects for 2019, the annual output value is expected to grow slightly by 1.5% because of factors such as Sino-US trade, China's economic cooling, and political interference from Britain and France. 

The TPCA has further pointed out that the expansion plans of major PCB manufacturers across the strait have sprung up like mushrooms in the past few years. However, as the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released the "Printed Circuit Board Industry Standards" on February 1, it has, on one hand, affected mainland China’s overall PCB environment, while the changes to the PCB manufacturing layout in China, Japan and Korea should also deserve our continuous attention. 

In addition, the PCB industry has been active, with the wave of booming smart manufacturing, deploying applications with Industry 4.0 and smart manufacturing. The TPCA will hold the "Launch Conference of PCBECI Equipment Networking Demo Team " on February 21st, which will introduce the purpose and vision of the PCB equipment networking data integration and smart pre-diagnosis development project. It is expected that the conference should focus on 20 PCB factories and 100 types of networking equipment. In addition, the PCBECI communication protocol (SCES/GEM) will be applied as the standard agreement to achieve the specific benefits of SECS/GEM in the diversified PCB fields, helping to achieve the objectives of data integration and visual smart pre-diagnosis. (News source: Commercial Times)