BANNOCKBURN, IL – When it comes to lead-free readiness, North American OEMs trail their counterparts in Asia and Europe. However, barely half the Asian OEMs declared themselves “fully engaged” in lead-free assembly.

That’s according to “Report on IPC Lead-Free Preparedness Study,” released by IPC this month. The study looked at the level of lead-free implementation at 196 OEMs and 94 EMS companies worldwide. IPC did not break out the number of respondents in each region.

EMS companies worldwide indicate they are farther along on the path to lead-free than OEMs. In Asia, 78% of EMS companies are fully engaged, versus just 51% of OEMs. In North America, 65% of EMS companies and 34% of OEMs are fully engaged. In Europe, the numbers are 64% and 48%, respectively, for EMS and OEMs.

Just 2 (Asia) to 8% (North America) of EMS companies reported being not prepared at all. Among North American OEMs, 26% said they are not prepared, versus 18% in Asia and 17% in Europe.

The report warned that the percentage of implementation by North American OEMs can be misinterpreted. “Some North American OEMs produce products which are today either exempt or excluded from the RoHS requirements. In addition, some OEMs produce product for consumption only in North America or other regions and as a result, at the time of the publication of this report, are not affected by RoHS or RoHS-type requirements.”

However, being “prepared” for lead-free has yet to translate into volume production. On average, less than 10% of assemblies are lead-free. That trend is expected to shift by 2010, when respondents expect 90% of assemblies to be lead-free.

Both sectors indicated reliability concerns, component acquisition and labeling, and inventory management as the greatest hindrances to lead-free implementation. Systems and inventory management, and components, were identified as the major costs in lead-free implementation.