PCB industry transfer: the main base is still in the Yangtze River Delta

Since the second half of 2010, the shipment of smartphones has increased significantly, and the hot sales of tablet computers have driven strong demand for HDI boards used in these two products. In the second half of 2010, circuit board manufacturers expanded HDI board production capacity, but in the fourth quarter of 2011, the HDI board market showed signs of oversupply and HDI capacity utilization began to decline. Market research guru Naka pointed out that China is the largest HDI board producer, with an output value of approximately US$4.2 billion, followed by Japan.

Anylayer HDI boards are the advanced PCB products in iPhone phones. In addition to Taiwanese manufacturers, Ibiden, Meiko, LG Innotek and AT&S Shanghai Factory have supplied a large number of Anylayer HDI boards to Apple iPhone. Apple also has a large number of hard board suppliers, including Japanese Panasonic, Ibiden, MEIKO, Taiwanese Tripod, Unimicron, Compeq, American Multek and Austrian AT&S. Nearly 60% of the circuit boards used in Apple products come from Taiwanese manufacturers. Naka pointed out that of the soft boards used by Apple come from Nippon Mektron, Sumitomot Denko, Career, Flexium, Interflex and Mflex.

One of the obvious changes in China's circuit board industry in 2011 is the transfer of production capacity to the inland, mainly in Hubei and Chongqing. Circuit board investments in Hubei include Japan's MEIKO's third phase investment in Wuhan, Beijing Kaidister's investment in Wuhan to produce automotive boards, Jianding's factory in Xiantao, and Hushi Electronics' investment in Huangshi. Naka pointed out that none of the above investments are for HDI boards. Circuit board investments in Chongqing include GBM, AT&S and Hanyu Bode. The Chongqing plants of the former two are under construction, while the latter is still in the planning stage. In addition, Huatao Electronics invested in Suining, Sichuan, Zhichao Technology invested in Chengdu, Trendtronics invested in Xiangtan, Hunan, and Huaxiang Circuit invested in Jiujiang, Jiangxi, but these are not investments in the production of HDI boards.

However, the Yangtze River Delta is still a gathering place for PCB industry investment, and new PCB manufacturers still invest in Kunshan and Wuxi. Naka pointed out that in Kunshan, Samsung Electro-Mechanics is expanding production, Hushi Electronics' new plant is nearing completion, and Evertek's expansion plan has entered the final stage of government approval; in Wuxi, Sanmina-SCI's second plant is nearing completion, and Shenzhen South Circuit is building an IC substrate plant. In addition, the old PCB manufacturers have not reduced production or relocated, and of the factories set up in the mainland are strategic, and the main base is still in the Yangtze River Delta. Naka pointed out that in 2011, 53% of China's circuit board output value came from Guangdong and 38% from East China.