Electronics.ca Publications

Friday, February 6, 2015

How Suppliers Rank in Optoelectronics, Sensors/Actuators and Discretes

Weak Japanese yen hits major optoelectronics and discretes companies in Japan and lowers overall O-S-D dollar sales growth in 2013.

Companies selling optoelectronics continue to dominate the top 30 sales ranking of suppliers serving semiconductor markets outside of traditional integrated circuit products, according to IC Insights’ 2014 O-S-D Report—A Market Analysis and Forecast for Optoelectronics, Sensors/Actuators, and Discretes. The new 350-page report shows 26 of the top 30 O-S-D suppliers selling optoelectronics, and among those companies, 16 are shipping light-emitting diodes (LEDs) for high-growth applications in solid-state lighting. The 2014 report also shows 16 of the top 30 O-S-D suppliers selling sensor and actuator products—including those made with microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology—and 18 companies offering discrete semiconductors. The 30 largest O-S-D suppliers accounted for 66% of the total $58.6 billion in worldwide revenues generated by optoelectronics, sensor/actuator devices, and discretes in 2013, based on IC Insights’ estimates and company reports. The new 2014 O-S-D Report says worldwide optoelectronics sales grew 5% in 2013 to $29.2 billion, while the sensors/actuators segment was uncharacteristically flat with no growth last year at $8.7 billion, and the discretes market dropped 5% to $20.7 billion.

In 2013, the top 10 suppliers accounted for 34% of combined O-S-D sales (see Figure 1), but it is also worth noting that these companies collectively lost marketshare in 2013 with the sum of their revenues dropping 2%. Suppliers ranked 11-30th in IC Insights’ new report saw combined dollar sales grow 2% in 2013, while the rest of the smaller O-S-D companies collectively gained marketshare last year with a 2% increase in combined sales. Combined revenues of the top 30 O-S-D companies were flat in 2013 compared to 2012 because of the weak Japanese yen-exchange rate that significantly lowered the dollar-sales value of products sold by semiconductor suppliers based in Japan.

The average exchange rate in 2013 was 97.6 yen per U.S. dollar in 2013 versus 79.8 yen/dollar in 2012. Because Japanese companies continue to be major suppliers of O S D products worldwide—especially in optoelectronics and discretes—the 18% decline in the 2013 yen exchange rate significantly held down the growth of the entire O-S-D marketplace, when sales are measured in U.S. dollars. If the stronger 2012 yen exchange rate were used, total O-S-D dollar sales in 2013 would have grown 8% to nearly $52.6 billion instead of the 1% increase to $58.6 billion when the weaker 2013 yen value is applied.

Figure 1

If the stronger 2012 79.8 yen/dollar exchange rate was used in 2013, O-S-D leader Sony—who is the top image sensor supplier—would have recorded a 16% increase in sales to $4.4 billion (versus a 5% decline to about $3.6 billion shown in the table above). Other top 10 O-S-D suppliers headquartered in Japan would have seen these improvements in growth using the stronger 2012 exchange rate: LED-leader and major laser maker Nichia (+19% versus -2%); Toshiba (+18% versus -3%); Renesas (+5% versus 14%); Mitsubishi (+9% versus -10%); and Sharp (+15% versus -6%). Figure 2 shows these changes in the top 10 ranking, based on the analysis in the 2014 O-S-D report, which also provides separate top 10 sales rankings for optoelectronics, sensors/actuators, and discrete semiconductors.

Optoelectronics Discretes Market

Figure 2

In a one-of-a-kind study, IC Insights expands its coverage of the semiconductor industry with detailed analysis of trends and growth rates in the optoelectronics, sensors/actuators, and discretes market segments in its newly revised 350-page O-S-D Report—A Market Analysis and Forecast for Optoelectronics, Sensors/Actuators, and Discretes.

Now in its ninth annual edition, the 2014 O-S-D Report contains a detailed forecast of sales, unit shipments, and selling prices for more than 30 individual product types and categories through 2018. Also included is a review of technology trends for each of the segments. The 2014 O-S-D Report, with more than 230 charts and figures, is attractively priced at $3,190 for an individual-user license and $6,290 for a multi-user corporate license.

Details of the new report, table of contents and ordering information can be found on Electronics.ca Publications’ web site. View the report: O-S-D Report—A Market Analysis and Forecast for Optoelectronics, Sensors/Actuators, and Discretes.

How Suppliers Rank in Optoelectronics, Sensors/Actuators and Discretes

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Structural Electronics - A Business of Tens of Billions of Dollars Within the Coming Decade

Structural electronics is one of the most important developments this century yet most people have never heard of it. Strange – there are over 37 million items on Google. Two years ago, IEEE published,”3D Printing for Rapid Prototyping of Structural Electronics”. Drayson revealed the “structural battery” in the aerofoil of its pure electric racing car. Tesla amazed us with an empty engine compartment and trunk in its pure electric car – the power train was entirely fitted into the sides and floor.

Fitting things into spare spaces, though it attracts the name, is really only a precursor of structural electronics. As covered in the reports, Future Technology for Hybrid and Pure Electric Cars and Structural Electronics, a much bigger gain comes when existing dumb metal and plastic are not needed because load-bearing electronics and electrics take over. A faster payback and much greater saving in weight and space result. Indeed, many other benefits accrue. Laminar batteries in the wings of an aircraft may not need water cooling because of their shape.

Load-bearing supercapacitors have already been made into a car trunk lid by Imperial College London and Vanderbilt University in the USA and others are doing similar things. Universities rarely use the term structural electronics for what they are doing – they prefer a longer string of words. Building Integrated Photovoltaics BIPV is not yet seen by proponents as a subset of structural electronics even though integral energy storage and circuitry is being explored. From aircraft fuselages having a human-like nervous system to the front panel of your washing machine being the electronics, the terminology is more likely to be manufacturing-oriented such as, “in-mold electronics”.

Nonetheless the big picture is structural electronics taking over from a century of joining components together and putting them in a box. Now is the century of electronic and electrical structures with a very different value chain. Providers of chemicals, laminates, composites, 3D electronic printing, smart skin for structures and, yes, in-mold electronics step forward.

The following pages are taken from the report “Structural Electronics 2015-2025: Applications, Technologies, Forecasts“. This research appraises the market opportunity, assesses technologies, the competitive landscape, value chain drivers, barriers, case studies and global trends.

Structural electronics market forecast by component type for 2014-2024 in US $ billions, for printed and potentially printed electronics including organic, inorganic and composites

Details of the new report, table of contents and ordering information can be found on Electronics.ca Publications’ web site. View the report: “Structural Electronics 2015-2025: Applications, Technologies, Forecasts“.

Structural Electronics - A Business of Tens of Billions of Dollars Within the Coming Decade

Soaring Sales of Consumer Electronic Devices Drives Growth in the Consumer Batteries Market

ELECTRONICS.CA PUBLICATIONS announces the availability of a comprehensive global report on Consumer Batteries markets. Global market for Consumer Batteries is projected to reach US$40.8 billion by 2020, driven by booming sales of consumer electronic devices and technology innovation in battery chemistries.

Market Research Report on Consumer Batteries

Batteries are ubiquitous energy storage devices that find application as an indispensable power source in consumer electronic products like home electronics, mobile devices, hearing aids, video game controls, cordless phones, camcorders, and cameras among others. Robust market for mobile phones and other digital consumer electronic products holds great potential for batteries. Arrival of numerous power hungry consumer electronic devices is spelling opportunities for efficient and long-lasting batteries. Demand in the market will continue to be fueled by the development of technologically advanced products, such as 3D TVs, smart remotes, tablets, and mobile phones.

Data hungry and energy-hogging consumer electronics will provide battery manufacturers with recurring sales and opportunities. Battery manufacturers are therefore focusing resources on researching and developing battery systems capable of meeting the ever growing power requirements of the digital world. Development of newer battery chemistries promises to bring in improvements in performance, reliability, durability, and efficiency. Growing need for high performance integrated battery solutions for use in rugged mobile computing platforms is additionally driving investments in R&D.

Secondary batteries, comprising Nickel Cadmium (NiCad), Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH), and Lithium-Ion (Li-ion) based batteries,ominate the market. Given their varying technological lineage, the market prospects for each of these technologies differ substantially. NiCad battery technology is weighed down by environmental concerns over cadmium toxicity in addition to facing stiff competitive threat from other advanced competing technologies. Market shares of NiCad and Ni-MH are expected to gradually decline, as adoption of Li-ion increases. Additionally, NiCd and Ni-MH are also expected to feel the heat of the arrival of new chemistries such as Nickel-zinc and Silver-zinc in the market. Large-area polymer batteries and wide prismatic batteries exhibit strong growth prospects on the back of accelerating demand for high-end IT products such as smartphones, tablet PCs and ultrabooks, which require slim, lightweight and high-capacity batteries.

Lithium-ion is the most exciting battery chemistry in the market with growth supported by growing demand for portable consumer products. The expanding base of smartphone users worldwide is expected to especially benefit the market. With “innovation” becoming a key driver of growth, manufacturers are investing heavily in the development of smaller and thinner Li-Ion batteries. In the primary batteries market, long-term growth is forecast to be led by the transition from Zinc-carbon to alkaline.

As stated by the new market research report on Consumer Batteries, Asia-Pacific represents the largest and the fastest growing market worldwide. Growth in the region is led by China. China is currently the largest producer and one of the leading consumers of Li-ion batteries globally. The United States represents the second largest market with growth supported by continuous upgrades and innovations in product design, and strong replacement demand.

Major players in the market include Battery Technologies Inc., BYD Company Ltd., Electrochem Automation Inc., Energizer Holdings Inc., FDK Corp., GP Batteries International Ltd., Hitachi Maxell Ltd., Jiangmen TWD Technology Co. Ltd., LG Chem Co. Ltd., Panasonic Corp., Sanyo Electric Company Ltd., Procter & Gamble Company, Samsung SDI Co. Ltd., Sony Corp., Spectrum Brands Inc., VARTA Consumer Batteries GmbH & Co. KgaA, Tronic Technology Global Ltd., and Ultralife Batteries Inc., among others.

The research report titled “Consumer Batteries – Global Strategic Business Report”, provides a comprehensive review of market trends, growth drivers, new product introductions, and other strategic industry activities of major global players. The report provides market estimates and projections in US dollars for all major geographic markets including US, Canada, Japan, Europe (France, Germany, Italy, UK, Spain, Russia, and Rest of Europe), Asia-Pacific (China, India, South Korea, and Rest of Asia-Pacific), Middle East, and Latin America (Brazil and Rest of Latin America). Product markets analyzed include Primary Batteries (Zinc Carbon, Alkaline, and Primary Lithium) and Secondary Batteries (Nickel Cadmium, Nickel Metal Hydride, Lithium Ion, and Other secondary batteries).

Market Research Report on Consumer Batteries

Details of the new report, table of contents and ordering information can be found on Electronics.ca Publications’ web site. View Complete Report Details: “Consumer Batteries – Global Strategic Business Report“

Soaring Sales of Consumer Electronic Devices Drives Growth in the Consumer Batteries Market

Robotics Market Shares And Market Forecasts

Robots — Markets Reach $171.7 Billion By 2020. — ELECTRONICS.CA PUBLICATIONS announces the availability of a new study “Robotics Market Shares, Strategy, and Forecasts, Worldwide, 2014 to 2020″. The 2014 study has 1191 pages, 607 tables and figures. Worldwide robotics markets are increasingly diversified, poised to achieve significant growth as every industry segment adopts mobile automated process new companies get more businesses test for substance abuse. The robots are taking over, they have remote control to control a device to make it do what you want.

Robots in general are poised to change every aspect of modern life. Robots are poised to change everything, what we eat, how we eat it, what we drive, how we drive it, what we manufacture, how we manufacture it, and the military, how we defend ourselves.

Robot technology is based on platforms that leverage sensors, controllers, software modules, cameras, visualization, and locomotors deploying machines for control of all repeatable process. Industrialization is after all the repetition of some task to create process. Robots take this a step further to create automation of process with the ability to move the units.

Robots are promising to improve yields in every industry. Robots make crops safer by eliminating or virtually eliminating herbicides. Downstream processing system solutions and robots achieve automation of process. Robots meet stringent hygiene and safety regulations, work tirelessly 24 hours a day, and relieve human workers of physically arduous tasks. Robots contribute to the freshness, variety and quality of food. Projects are ongoing. Projects are ongoing.

What could be tastier than a fresh picked strawberry, fully ripe, full of juicy appetence, exquisite in every way? Plant factories, grow lights, vertical farming appliances, and robots that make them possible are poised to change the economics of food growing. Robots in general are poised to change every aspect of modern life. Robots are poised to change everything, what we eat, how we eat it, what we drive, how we drive it, what we manufacture, how we manufacture it, and the military, how we defend ourselves.

Robots are set to bring a new industrial revolution more important than anything seen before. Industrial robots perform repetitive tasks efficiently, they do not eat, they do not make mistakes, they do not get tired, they do what they are told, they work 24 hours per day 7 days a week. Manufacturing plants are frequently long aisles of nothing but robots, no human in sight.

Beyond industrial robots that repeat actions, more intelligent robots loaded with sensors are able to automate process using processors and cameras to control action. Use of microprocessors provides a measure of intelligent control over the activity of the robot based on input from the sensors and the cameras.

Tablet apps are congruent technology for all robots, adding platform functionality and providing basic platform controls. There is the potential for standardization so the robotic platforms are congruent, but that has not happened yet. Companies with a presence in tablet markets are poised to benefit enormously from the growth of robot markets. The app software provides a universal mechanism that will permit flexible response to changing market conditions.

According to Susan Eustis, lead author of the WinterGreen Research team that prepared the study, “The opportunity to participate in robotic markets is compelling. This new market is evolving as new automated process based on breakthroughs and innovation in technology is expressed in robotic platforms. Microprocessor technology, optics, cameras, nanotechnology, new materials, thin film batteries, and sensors are among the technologies being put to use in innovative ways in robots. The ability to apply any technology from any company is phenomenal..”

Consideration of Robot Market Forecasts indicates that markets at $53 billion will reach $171.7 billion by 2020. Growth comes as every industry achieves efficiency by automating process robotically. Robots are unique because they can perform multiple steps without human intervention and they can adapt to different conditions and different types of devices to be manipulated. The sensors and the cameras in the robots make them flexible.

Details of the new report, table of contents and ordering information can be found on Electronics.ca Publications’ web site. View the report: “Robots: Market Shares, Strategy, and Forecasts, Worldwide, 2014 to 2020“.

Robotics Market Shares And Market Forecasts

Monday, February 2, 2015

Wi-Fi Semiconductor Chipset Analysis - Wi-Fi Ascending Now More Than Ever

ELECTRONICS.CA PUBLICATIONS announces the availability of a new report entitled “Supplier BullsEye Analysis 802.11ac WiFi Chipsets”. According to the oft-cited Cisco Visual Networking Index, by 2018, Wi-Fi becomes the most important air interface (and possibly the most important broadband wireless communications interface bar none).

Exhibit 1: Global IP Traffic by Local Access Technology

2×2 MIMO 802.11ac is now a standard feature in new smartphones, phablets, tablets and notebook computers. We believe that in 1H15 2015, new iOS and Android radio firmware will turn on Multi User MIMO (MU-MIMO) functionality in smartphones, potentially quadrupling Wi-Fi throughput as 11ac Wave 2 Access Points are deployed.

At the International CES 2015 event in early January 2015, all eight of the semiconductor suppliers analyzed in this report made announcements regarding their IEEE 802.1ac product portfolios. The battle for new design wins and subsequent market share had shifted and become significantly more complex.

Qualcomm and Broadcom are in a horse race now for Wave 2 consumer gateway and enterprise access point design wins. Broadcom has strong Wave 1 design win momentum, while Qualcomm has a product maturity advantage.

Marvell has a strong new Wave 2 chipset offering, a deep Ethernet packet processing experience, but few existing 11ac design wins. We believe Marvell is the dark horse in the 2015 race for Wave 2 chipset market share.

Quantenna has the most market experience with Wave 2 802.11ac radios. As evidence of their technical prowess, they demonstrated an 8×8:8 “Wave 3″ (EJL Wireless Research designation) solution at CES 2015. We believe the company is an attractive acquisition for a strong embedded processing semiconductor company.

For a small venture-backed company, Celeno has an impressive set of design wins. An acquisition by their set top box design partner Intel would enable Intel to increase their “share of wallet” in consumer cable modem WLAN gateway systems.

MediaTek has stepped up with a Wave 2 radio and powerful Wi-Fi networking SoC, and while late to the game, they offer a complete smartphone chipset portfolio, providing client side leverage for their Wi-Fi access point chipset solution.

Intel has taken an early market lead with IEEE 802.11ad WiGig. The question remains whether they will see consumer interest and PC OEM uptake of this new short range 60 GHz air interface in 2015.

Realtek faces a serious threat from Broadcom’s new single chip 2×2 11ac product family. 2015 will be a critical year for Realtek’s future in Wi-Fi silicon.

This research report is intended as a companion to another Wi-Fi Semiconductor Chipset Analysis “Wi-Fi Blasts Ahead with 11ac Wave 2 Chipsets“, published in December 2014.

This research report analyzes eight 802.11ac Wi-Fi equipment chipset suppliers (three radio only and five radio plus Wi-Fi networking processor SoC) using objective commercial and technical performance fitness evaluation criteria. Alphabetically, these suppliers are:

Broadcom Corp

Celeno Communications (radio only)

Intel Corp (radio only)

Marvell Technology Group

MediaTek, Inc.

Qualcomm Technology, Inc.

Quantenna Communications, Inc. (radio only)

Realtek Semiconductor Corp

This research report does not cover products from Airoha, Intersil or Lantiq, as none of these companies offers 802.11ac radios or companion networking processors SoCs. Redpine Signals was removed from this report, as the company has no known 802.11ac equipment design wins. EVALUATION CRITERIA RATIONALIZATION Criterion 1 Complete 802.11ac Wave 1 or Wave 2 Chipset (Radio plus Wi-Fi Networking Processor SoC).

With a very small number of exceptions, enterprise and carrier Wi-Fi access point OEMs (and their ODM partners typically in Taiwan) are unwilling to mix radios and networking processor SoC in their system designs. There are numerous compelling reasons for this industry dynamic. First, complete “homogeneous” (single supplier) chipset suppliers optimize system performance for their own radio and networking SoC (plus one or two third-party RF front end designs), and these suppliers are generally unwilling to optimize system performance for system designs that include competitor silicon and software (this optimization process generally requires release of proprietary firmware or software source code, for example). This means the equipment OEM must optimize a “mixed supplier” chipset themselves. To make matters worse, the chip suppliers will typically hold back on application engineering support to customers attempting to integrate and optimize a “heterogeneous” (multiple supplier) chipset, both because of ambiguous technical accountability, and to apply business leverage on the equipment OEM to abandon the heterogeneous design, and adopt the supplier’s complete homogeneous chipset. Additionally, the semiconductor suppliers will typically provide more attractive pricing for a complete chipset design win than for discrete radio or networking SoC chips.

The R&D and sustaining engineering support resources required by the equipment OEM to integrate and optimize a heterogeneous chipset are much higher than using a complete reference design from a single supplier. Clearly there would have to be a major technical benefit (much higher performance, much lower power, much smaller form factor) to a heterogeneous chipset to justify the higher marginal manufacturing cost and the much higher development and support costs. There is little or no compelling evidence of any “breakthrough level” technical benefit in the publically available test results published by access point equipment OEMs using heterogeneous chipsets.

The particular criterion is “binary”: complete radio plus Wi-Fi networking processor SoC suppliers receive four points; and radio only suppliers receive one point. There are no intermediate point scores between one and four. One point is awarded to radio only suppliers because in all cases they have reference design relationships with Wi-Fi networking processor SoC suppliers such as Lantiq, Freescale and Intel.

Due to this industry dynamic, suppliers who can offer complete 802.11ac chipsets (radio plus networking SoC) have an overwhelming commercial advantage over those suppliers who offer discrete radios or discrete networking processor SoCs, and thus this criterion is ranked #1 in the EJL Wireless Research Wi-Fi Chipset Supplier BullsEye Analysis.

Details of the new report, table of contents and ordering information can be found on Electronics.ca Publications’ web site. View the report: Supplier BullsEye Analysis 802.11ac WiFi Chipsets.

Wi-Fi Semiconductor Chipset Analysis - Wi-Fi Ascending Now More Than Ever

LED Front-End Equipment Market Report

A comprehensive survey of LED Front-End equipment business, covering main trends and industry per process step, and market metrics

THE NEXT INVESTMENT CYCLE HAS ALREADY STARTED

Driven by the fanfare over (and overestimation of) the LCD display market, the LED Front-End equipment market experienced an unprecedented investment cycle in 2010-2011. The market surge was driven mostly by MOCVD reactor shipments to new Chinese entrants, who benefited from the generous subsidies of the Chinese central and local governments in a bid to stimulate domestic chip production.

Following a 18-24 month digestion period, the market is now slowly recovering and will experience another investment cycle in 2014-2016 driven by demand for general lighting applications.

However, this 2nd cycle will be limited in value due to:

Improvement in equipment throughput and yields

Increased competition

Potential consolidation of the industry

Indeed, LED manufacturers initially relied on old semiconductor systems designed for other applications. Now that the industry has reached a critical size, several LED-dedicated equipment (that take into account the specificities of LED manufacturing) has been commercialized.

As a result, the equipment market will peak at nearly $580M in 2015 with MOCVD reactors representing more than 80% of the business: the bulk of these reactors are still being shipped to Chinese manufacturers or Taiwanese players transitioning to 4” diameters. Lithography, plasma etching, PECVD and PVD equipment will follow a similar trend.

This report presents major equipment used in LED Front-End Manufacturing. It describes market size and volume (2009-2020), trends per process steps (performance, ASP, emerging technologies…), key suppliers, and much more!

LED Front-End equipment business

LED Front-End Equipment Market Report

Growth in Electronics Production by Country

Growth within the global electronics industry started to gain momentum in the later part of 2013 a trend which will continue in 2014 and then accelerate in the period to 2017, with stronger growth in the emerging markets. Growth is being driven by the improved outlook for the global economy although downside risks still remain. The Volume 2 of the Yearbook of World Electronics Data tracks developments in the electronics industry for 16 countries with emphasis on the Americas, Japan and the Asia Pacific.

Despite losing its position as the world’s largest producer the US remains the largest market. 2013 however, witnessed a further decline in electronics output, production falling by 1.9%. A stronger domestic and global economy in 2014 should see a return to growth in 2014, although it is expected to be modest at 1.1%. The US, like Europe is now focused on the production of low-volume products in the control and instrumentation, medical, automotive, industrial, defence, high-end computing and communications segments. Over the medium term these sectors are projected to achieve low to medium-digit growth. The move by US companies to “reshore” production is gaining some momentum although the decision by Motorola Mobility to close its smartphone plant after only a year continues to question the viability of producing high volume products in the country.

Electronics output in Japan declined for the third consecutive year in 2013, with output falling by 3.2% during the year and compared to double-digit declines in the prior year two years. The economic policies being implemented by the government, the so called Abenomics has led to an improvement in exchange rates and led to a spurt in exports. In 2014, the recovery which started in the prior September is expected to strengthen due to the continuation of the government’s economic policies and the on-going boost to exports provided by the weak yen. As a result, growth in local currency is forecast to increase by 3.7%.

Growth in Electronics Production by Country 2009-2014

Source: RER, The Yearbook of World Electronics Data

South Korea on the back of its leading position in semiconductors, mobile communications and advanced consumer electronic products is the fourth largest electronics producer globally with output of US$111.2 billion in 2013. After declining by 3.4% in 2012 electronics production rebounded in 2013 increasing by 8.9% on the back of strong growth in both the semiconductor and wireless communications segments. Growth is expected to ease in 2014 but still post healthy growth of 6.1% with the main drivers again the semiconductor and wireless communications segments.

Taiwan’s electronics industry is today dominated by a small number of large groups. In addition to the capital intensive semiconductor and display companies the country also has a significant number of ODMs which hold a major share in the global production of computer and communications products. Production for a significant proportion of high volume products manufactured by ODMs is now undertaken in China. In 2013, electronics output increased by 6.5% although growth was primarily driven by the key semiconductor segment. Taiwanese companies will continue to look offshore to reduce costs although the benefits of manufacturing in China will be impacted by rising wages in the country. The semiconductor segment, through the country’s leading position within the foundry business, will be key driver to growth over the medium term.

Electronic output in Malaysia increased by 2.5% in 2013 and followed a decline of 3.1% in the prior year. A recovery in the semiconductor segment combined with an improved performance in the consumer segment offset a further decline in the production of computer hardware. Continued growth in new investment will help boost production in the medium-term although output could still be influenced if established manufactures look to adjust capacity or move production to other countries. The trend to higher value-added production will continue with the country continuing to be an attractive location for the world’s leading electronic manufacturing service providers.

The emphasis on low cost manufacturing, which has driven the growth in the emerging countries and in particular China, is today being questioned. In Western Europe and the US/Canada reshoring is expected to be a significant issue over the next few years. At the same time it is expected that companies, including those in the industrial, automotive and medical sectors, will look to increase manufacturing, either internally or through partners in the emerging markets.

Cost will continue to be a key factor for the high volume products within the 3C segment. Escalating costs in China is pushing manufacturing in the country into the mainland but there is also evidence that overseas manufacturers are looking to alternative locations and to spread manufacturing across several countries.

The Yearbook of World Electronics Data tracks developments in the electronics industry for 16 countries with emphasis on the Americas, Japan and the Asia Pacific. Details of the new report, table of contents and ordering information can be found on Electronics.ca Publications’ web site. View the report: Yearbook of World Electronics Data Volume 2 2014: America, Japan and Asia-Pacific.