Taiwanese printed circuit board (PCB) suppliers operating in China have been adversely affected by the weak fundamentals of the global economy, a survey showed yesterday.
The output of Taiwanese PCB companies operating at home and in China is projected at NT$517.5 billion (US$17.30 billion) for this year, no more than a 2.23 percent annual rise, according to the survey.
The survey was conducted by the Taiwan Industrial Economics and Knowledge Research Center (IEK) and the Taiwan Printed Circuit Association (TPCA).
The TPCA said the projected 2.23 percent growth in output represents a disappointing performance by the PCB industry.
In the second quarter, the production value of Taiwanese PCB manufacturers in China rose 3.5 percent from the first quarter to NT$127.9 billion, according to the survey.
The TPCA said manufacturing activity in the US, China, Japan and the eurozone appears to have shrunk, giving rise to concerns over falling global demand for high-tech devices.
The Institute for Supply Management of the US reported overnight a drop in last month’s manufacturing activity index to 49.6 — the third consecutive contraction. In China, the official manufacturing index fell to 49.2 last month from 50.1 a month earlier.
PCBs are one of the major components in a wide range of high-tech products, including personal computers and smartphones. They are also used in the defense industry in the manufacture of weapons.
The TPCA said the survey included production in China by Taiwanese PCB companies, since a majority of local manufacturers have moved their operations to China.
About 40 percent of the output of China’s PCB sector last year was from Taiwanese manufacturers, the TPCA said.
The association said it would hold a seminar today to discuss the development of the PCB industry in the second half of the year.