Japan's PCB Industry in Crisis: 9-Month Decline!

The Japan Electronics Packaging Circuits Association (JPCA) has recently published vital statistics concerning the state of the printed circuit board (PCB) industry in Japan during July 2023. These findings are of great importance to stakeholders in the electronic components sector.

In July 2023, the production of PCBs, encompassing both rigid and flexible boards, as well as module substrates, experienced a pronounced decline of 16.4% compared to the same month in the preceding year, resulting in a total production volume of 818,000 square meters. This marks the 18th consecutive month of production contraction. Concurrently, the total revenue witnessed a significant decrease of 22.6%, amounting to 497.72 billion Japanese yen. This decline marks the 9th consecutive month of falling revenues and the 5th consecutive month of double-digit (10% or more) declines. This reduction represents the second-largest decrease observed this year, with only April 2023 recording a more substantial drop (24.7%), which was the most considerable decline since February 2013.

Breaking down the PCB types, the production of rigid boards (Rigid PCB) in July showed a decrease of 15.9% compared to the corresponding month the previous year, amounting to 648,000 square meters. This marks the 17th consecutive month of production decline. Total revenues for rigid boards plummeted by 20.8% to 308.24 billion Japanese yen, reflecting the 11th consecutive month of revenue contraction.

In the same period, production of flexible PCBs experienced a 15.0% decline, reaching 121,000 square meters and marking the second consecutive month of contraction. Revenues for flexible PCBs similarly declined by 10.2% to 23.97 billion Japanese yen, reflecting the eighth decline in nine months.

Module substrates (Module Substrates) recorded a substantial decline in production, dropping by 24.7% to 49,000 square meters in July. This marks the 14th consecutive month of contraction. Total revenue for module substrates also fell by 27.2% to 165.51 billion Japanese yen, reflecting the fourth consecutive month of revenue decline.

For the period spanning January to July 2023, Japan's total PCB production declined by 14.1% compared to the same period in the previous year, resulting in a total production volume of 5.765 million square meters. Total revenues for the same period fell by 16.0% to 3,411.60 billion Japanese yen.

Breaking down the PCB types for this period, rigid board production saw a decline of 13.4% to 4.687 million square meters, with total revenues decreasing by 19.3% to 2,082.26 billion Japanese yen. Flexible board production decreased by 8.1% to 780,000 square meters, with total revenues falling by 8.5% to 157.07 billion Japanese yen. Module substrate production experienced a significant drop of 34.2% to 299,000 square meters, with total revenues shrinking by 10.6% to 1,172.27 billion Japanese yen.

Prominent players in Japan's PCB industry include companies such as Ibiden, CMK, Nippon Mektron under NOK Corporation, Fujikura, and Meiko Electronics, among others. This comprehensive data underscores the evolving landscape of Japan's PCB industry, which holds implications for all stakeholders in the electronic components sector.