"Cost of Conversion Benchmarking Study" report published by CEERIS International

Current market conditions emphasize the need for electronics assembly operations to control their costs. CEERIS International�s latest cost of conversion benchmarking research (http://www.ceeris.com/conversion.htm) provides insights on the cost structure as a function of volume assembly, the most important cost driver with geographic location.

Since 1999, the share of cost of conversion expressed as a percentage of the transfer/selling price of a PCA has decreased slightly in each volume category with the biggest drop being in the high/very high volume group. In 2001, cost of conversion amounts to 22.6% on average of the transfer/selling price for boards assembled in low volumes, 18.6% for medium volume assemblies, and 13.7% for high and very high volume PCAs.

Cost of conversion is the difference between the transfer/selling price of a PCA and the cost of material paid to the suppliers.

For further information, visit http://www.ceeris.com or contact Charles-Henri Mangin, President of CEERIS, at ceeris@aol.com.