PCB Market Authority Nakahara to Deliver Industry Outlook at PCB West
PEACHTREE CITY, GA – The Printed Circuit Engineering Association (PCEA) today announced that Dr. Hayao Nakahara, president of N.T. Information Ltd. and author of the annual NTI-100 ranking of the world’s largest printed circuit board manufacturers, will present “The PCB Market Outlook” at PCB West 2026.
His session, “The PCB Market Outlook,” takes place Oct. 2 from 10 to 11 a.m. at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA.
Dr. Nakahara will examine the past, present and future of the PCB market, the forces pushing the industry, and the effects of AI – not only on demand, but on the technology changes fabricators and designers will be asked to absorb. The class is open to all experience levels and is intended for designers, hardware and test engineers, fabrication and assembly personnel, and business leaders.
Dr. Nakahara has compiled the NTI-100, the definitive ranking of printed circuit board manufacturers with annual PCB revenues above $100 million, every year since 1999. The list is published each fall in PRINTED CIRCUIT DESIGN & FAB.
His most recent ranking found a record 159 fabricators topped the $100 million mark in 2024, up from 134 the year prior, and put worldwide PCB production at approximately $96 billion, with China accounting for roughly 59% of global output. The 2024 data also tracked an accelerating buildout in Southeast Asia, where more than 60 fabricators are constructing plants in Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam.
Dr. Nakahara founded N.T. Information in 1986 and has toured more than 600 PCB manufacturing plants in 67 countries over a career spanning six decades. He began in the industry at Photocircuits Corp. in 1965 and spent 15 years with the PCK Technology division of Kollmorgen Corp. He holds a master’s in electrical engineering from the University of Washington and a doctorate in electrical engineering from Columbia University.
“Dr. Nakahara’s data are the backbone of how this industry understands itself,” said Mike Buetow, president, PCEA. “When an OEM decides where to source, or a fabricator decides where to put its next dollar of capital equipment, the NTI-100 is the reference they reach for. No one else has spent six decades walking the factory floors in 67 countries and then done the arithmetic. For anyone making a sourcing, capacity or investment decision, this hour is the best market intelligence in the industry.”
Registration is open at pcbwest.com. Conference registrants who sign up by August 21 can take advantage of the Early Bird Special discounts for the conference.
PCB West will be held September 29 - October 2, 2026, at the Santa Clara (CA) Convention Center. The event includes a one-day exhibition on September 30, which will include a free lunch on the exhibit floor.
