Sep 12, 2011 IPC - Association Connecting Electronics Industries® released the summer 2011 edition of its quarterly business report, Electronics Industries Market Data Update, showing slower growth in most national economies as well as in the worldwide electronics industry.
China continues to lead the major industrial countries with 9.5 percent growth in gross domestic product (GDP) in the second quarter of 2011, down slightly from first quarter. U.S. economic growth in the second quarter was an annualized 1.3 percent and the euro zone’s growth was just 0.2 percent. The ending of stimulus programs combined with the debt crisis in Europe and the continuation of high unemployment in the USA are putting the brakes on economic recovery. Most leading economic indicators show a continuation of this trend through the remainder of 2011.
In the electronics supply chain, the numbers look better, but growth is still slowing. The second quarter showed solid year-on-year sales growth in the assembly equipment, EMS and laminate industries, and modest growth in process consumables. Solder and semiconductor sales worldwide in the second quarter were slightly below 2010 figures.
IPC has integrated the data trends of all key segments of the electronic interconnect industry with leading indicators to create the IPC Index of North American Performance. The index for second quarter 2011 fell to a moderate 4.3, indicating that growth rates have returned to more normal levels. This index is updated quarterly and published in every issue of Electronics Industries Market Data Update.
Subscribers and IPC members also receive an interactive graph with every edition of Electronics Industries Market Data Update. Users may download the graph and securely enter their sales growth rates to see how those rates compare to the growth averages of various segments of the electronics industry.
The Electronics Industries Market Data Update is published quarterly and is available as a free benefit of IPC membership or by paid subscription. Members may download the report for free at www.ipc.org/Update. Nonmembers may subscribe at www.ipc.org/MDU-subscription. For more information on Electronics Industries Market Data Update and other IPC statistical programs, contact Sharon Starr, IPC director of market research, at SharonStarr@ipc.org or +1 847-597-2817.
IPC (www.IPC.org) is a global trade association based in Bannockburn, Ill., dedicated to the competitive excellence and financial success of its 3,000 member companies which represent all facets of the electronics industry, including design, printed board manufacturing, electronics assembly and test. As a member-driven organization and leading source for industry standards, training, market research and public policy advocacy, IPC supports programs to meet the needs of an estimated $1.85 trillion global electronics industry. IPC maintains additional offices in Taos, N.M.; Arlington, Va.; Stockholm, Sweden; Moscow, Russia; Bangalore, India; and Shanghai, Shenzhen and Beijing, China.
»
