BERLIN – According to estimates from the German Printed Circuit Association and the German trade association ZVEI, the global market for electronic components and systems in 2005 grew by 5.7% to $38.5 billion.
 
The largest share (58.3%) was achieved in Japan and Southeast Asia. The largest growth was 12.9%, again in Southeast Asia.
 
In Europe, sales amounted to $5.65 billion, up 1.3% from 2004. An increase of 3.5% is expected in Europe this year. According to the associations, companies are being put under cost pressure due to increased prices for energy and raw materials. The increase in price of crude oil affects energy costs as well as primary products such as chemicals, resins, paints and base material. From January to April 2006, the price of crude oil increased by over 21%. The following metals were also affected by price increases: gold (18%), aluminium (21%), nickel (37%), tin (41%) and copper (59%).
 
The number of European PCB manufacturers dropped from 426 in 2004 to 379 in 2005. Production volume in 2005 totaled 2.75 billion Euros, a drop of 8.4%. Capacity is also being reduced as a result of the decrease in production. According to estimates, this is leading to longer delivery times for PCBs, although demand is currently improving. At the end of 2005, 25,735 people were employed in the industry in Europe; in 2004 the industry employed 28,400 workers. This reduction is due to both factory closures as well as better equipment. In 2005, the main customer segments in Europe were the industrial electronics industry (27.3%) and the communications industry (26.1%), followed by the automotive electronics industry (21.1%).
 
The report also breaks down the results from Germany alone. More than a third (36.2%) of all European PCBs are manufactured in Germany. In 2005, 90 German PCB manufacturers employing 8,500 staff produced PCBs worth 981 million Euros. In the previous year, 104 companies employing 9,480 staff were active in the industry, with production volume totaling 1.04 billion Euros. The main customer segments in Germany were the automotive electronics industry (33.6%), industrial electronics industry (23.9%) and the communications industry (18.1%).
 

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