To meet the demands of new orders placed by Apple and the simultaneous influx of orders from non-Apple-related applications, ZDT, Flexium Interconnect Inc., and PCB-related factories are planning their production capacity deployment in Q1 2020 in advance as a response to customer demands and the earlier arrival of the 2020 Lunar New Year. ZDT directly stated that during the 2020 Lunar New Year, its mainland plant might only take one day off while making full efforts to catch up with their shipments. Flexium Interconnect also said that Q1 2020 would initially appear to be “a bit busier than in previous years”, as compared to the off-season period in the first quarter of 2019.

 

　　The flexible board manufacturers are planning to expand their production or start new production capacities in 2020 to cope with market demands. The construction of the new Kunshan plant, a subsidiary of Flexium Interconnect, has already begun with a maximum annual output value of CNY 3 billion.

　　ZDT has also scheduled to expand its production to achieve a new capacity in 2020, including the back-end assembly of PCBA in India in the first half of 2020 and the second-phase expansion of the new plant in Shenzhen. Moreover, the Huai’an and Qinhuangdao factories will start new production capacities in the second half of next year. Within these plants, some factories have already achieved the lights-off goal, which will help improve cost competitiveness. ZDT is also the only company among Taiwan-invested PCB manufacturers to profit from SLP products.

　　Industry insiders pointed out that the PCB factories have been affected by inventory factors at the end of the fourth quarter over the years and the upstream CCL material suppliers of PCBs also cooperate in supplying materials to meet the needs of the terminal board factories. However, this 2019’s situation is quite different due to the simultaneous influx of orders from Apple and non-Apple smartphones. The PCB manufacturers have even made early plans to work overtime and stock-up on materials for the 2020 Lunar New Year to meet customer demands.
　　

ZDT indicated that the market demand in Q1 2020 would not be weak when observing the market demands at this stage. The company’s mainland China plant may only have one day off during the Lunar New Year and they will carefully observe the market dynamics and adjust the actual production situation to respond to the overall production and preparation dynamically.

　　Flexium Interconnect noted that Q1 2020 would be “a bit busier” than the same period in previous years. The off-season does not appear to be slow at all and the continued launch of terminal new products will also drive the demand growth in 2020. Flexium Interconnect focuses on the mid to high-end product field and grows in response to the market demands. The company’s Kaohsiung plant also emphasizes investment in 5G material technology and front-end processes. The Kunshan plant stresses the layout for modules, with the aim of catching up with market demands in the second half of 2020 with a new production capacity.

　　Compeq stated that the current demand for mobile devices is good and the automobile HDI boards market also has the opportunity to grow simultaneously. If the US-China trade war issue is alleviated, it will help boost the PCB demand. Currently, the company’s production capacity can still meet the seasonal demand. During the production of December’s inventory, the company can also prepare in advance for the 2020 Lunar New Year’s production. To achieve a larger production capacity, they will have to wait until the second-phase construction at the Chongqing plant is ready; the plant is scheduled for mass production as soon as 2021. (News source: Economic Daily News)