Electronic Manufacturing

The final months of 2012 witnessed a larger than expected decline in electronics output across Western Europe, a trend which has continued through into 2013. Weak consumer and business confidence is expected to continue to dampen growth while on-going austerity measures will hold back government spending. However, despite the short-term problems facing the industry there are signs that the economies of Western Europe are beginning to show the potential for a sustained economic recovery. The emerging markets will play a significant role in the recovery in manufacturing output in Western Europe, in particular, for products in which the region is now focused.

The economics of the global robotics sector has slowed in the past several years due to transnational upsets in the global financial community but the industry remains a substantial and growing enterprise. In the countries studied in Robotics: Technologies and Global Markets, the market for whole robots, robot parts, robot software, and related safety materials now approaches $22 billion. The study forecasts it will rise at a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.9% between 2013 and 2018, when it’s expected to surpass $29 billion. The bulk of the growth in the European Union will be concentrated in the latter part of the forecast period, when robotic development initiatives now being undertaken on an EU-wide basis will result in commercialized products. The distribution of growth among different types of robots also reflects a profoundly different approach in the EU toward encouraging the development of the industry than that in the North American market. The chief difference is an EU-wide emphasis on creating a new class of robots that can safely work in near proximity to humans and safely perform personal-care tasks that will be increasingly required as the European population ages.

New automotive technologies that go beyond touchscreens, satellite radio, and voice-activated GPS commands are being tested and improved, and will soon begin to appear in many more new car models, resulting in solid growth for the automotive IC market through 2016, according to the 2013 edition of  IC Market Drivers—A Study of Emerging and Major End-Use Applications Fueling Demand for Integrated Circuits. Military-like night-vision systems that quickly identify pedestrians, animals or road hazards in low-light conditions; airbags stowed in shoulder harnesses of seatbelts; and the ability for drivers to customize the look of their dashboard instrument panels are examples of systems that are available in a select number of cars now, but will soon become available in many more vehicles. Along with backup cameras, electronic stability control, active-cruise control, and several other systems covered in the IC Market Drivers report, emerging electronic systems are forecast to help the automotive IC market grow 52% from $18.2 billion in 2012 to $27.7 billion in 2016.  This growth translates to an average annual increase of 11% for the automotive IC market.

There is significant growth in the inverter market, which reached $45 billion in 2012 for motion and conversion. Energy related topics have become more and more important in 2012 – vehicle electrification, renewable energies, electricity transportation, – and as a direct result, the  power electronics market has increased.  This growth is driven by high volume and cost pressure applications such as EV/HEV,  and by high added-value markets like renewable energies and rail traction.

The increasing power consumption and CO2 emissions are some of the major challenges for the manufacturers of the electric motors. To overcome the above-mentioned challenges, different standards and regulations are launched by the governments of different countries like U.S., France, China, Japan, and also by different associations like NEMA, IEA (International Energy Association), and others. Energy-efficient motors are manufactured as per all the energy saving standards. The operating cost of the energy-efficient motors is much lesser as compared to the standard motors due to the low energy cost and minimum CO2 emission. The demand for energy efficient motors is continuously increasing and replacing the standard motors in different sectors. The report covers all the major energy efficient standards, product types, applications and end users of the energy efficient motors.

In addition to nearly 600 billion dollars in trade deficit due to free trade policies, the counterfeit electronics from China entering into the U.S. supply chain have become a national security threat [11]. Initially, the United States manufactured all defense-related products at home. However, consumer electronics were being built in China due to its low cost of labor.  As technology progressed to advanced transistor technology, it required a large investment from defense contractors, who work for profit, to manufacture semiconductor wafers in the United States. Hence, several defense contractors started to use Chinese built ICs for military weapons like missiles and machine guns. Along with the state-of-the-art infrastructure, the technical knowhow to make advanced technology products has also been transferred to China.

The global electric household appliances market is highly sensitive to macroeconomic factors such as GDP growth and per capital incomes. Consumer preference also plays a key role in determining sales, as factors, such as price, quality, features, and brands are unique to each geographic region and demographic segment.

Flexible circuit shipments in December 2012 were up 6.7 percent, and bookings were up 9.4 percent compared to December 2011. Year to date, flexible circuit shipments decreased 1.5 percent and bookings decreased 10.0 percent. Compared to the previous month, flexible circuit shipments decreased 7.4 percent but flex bookings were up 20.2 percent. The North American flexible circuit book-to-bill ratio improved to 0.84. For rigid PCBs and flexible circuits combined, industry shipments in December 2012 were down 14.5 percent and bookings decreased 7.5 percent, compared to December 2011. Year to date, combined industry shipments were down 5.2 percent and bookings were down 2.4 percent. Compared to the previous month, combined industry shipments for December 2012 increased 5.7 percent and bookings increased 19.1 percent. The combined (rigid and flex) industry book-to-bill ratio in December 2012 rose to 0.98.

Thermal management hardware account for about 80% of the total thermal management market. The other main thermal management product segments –software, interface materials, and substrates – each account for between 5% and 7% of the market. The market for thermal management technologies was valued at $6.7 billion in 2011 and reached $7 billion in 2012. Total market value is expected to reach $10.1 billion in 2017 after increasing at a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.6%.

According to this report the global market for electronic chemicals and materials was valued at $21.2 billion in 2011 and should reach $22 billion in 2012. Total market value is expected to reach nearly $28.8 billion in 2017 after increasing at a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.5%.