《TAIPEI TIMES》 PCB sector’s output value expected to hit record high

By Angelica Oung / Staff reporter

The output value of Taiwan’s printed circuit board （PCB） industry is expected to reach a record high this year, despite the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Taiwan Printed Circuit Association （TPCA） said yesterday.

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The PCB industry had “no reason to be optimistic about 2020 at the beginning of the year,” the association said in a report. “But fortunately, the 5G early-stage infrastructure and carrier applications filled the gap caused by the pandemic in a timely manner, further promoting PCB price and value.”

Predicting that the industry’s factory utilization rate in the fourth quarter would stay “at a high level,” the association said it expects this year’s annual output value of the industry would reach NT$678.5 billion （US$23.85 billion）, which would be a “new high,” the report said.

The PCB output value of Taiwanese companies with operations in Taiwan and China hit NT$185 billion in the third quarter, which was relatively flat compared with the same quarter last year, the report said.

However, if accounting for exchange rate volatility in the New Taiwan dollar, the output value would have been 6 percent higher in the third quarter year-on-year, it said.

The association said in a statement that it credited 5G-related demand for “enabling Taiwan’s PCB industry to maintain its output value, despite the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

That also came as many Taiwanese businesses were returning home to invest or expand production in light of rising demand for high-end 5G products, the association said.

Taiwanese companies with operations in China have slightly lost ground in the third quarter, it said.

“The overall performance of Taiwanese companies [with domestic operations] has been better than that of Taiwanese companies in China,” the association said.

China operations accounted for 62.5 percent of Taiwanese PCB makers’ total output in the third quarter, down 1 percent from the previous quarter, it said.

IC substrates and rigid PCBs were “key players” for growth in the third quarter, it said.

“Output of IC substrates reported double-digit percentage growth in the third quarter. Due to capacity constraints and supply shortages, IC substrates would still be the main growth engine for Taiwan’s PCB industry,” the association said.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES