EMS Sales Dip in 2001

Atlanta, GA

A new report from the IPC-Association Connecting Electronics Industries (Northbrook, IL) states that, because of the overall slowdown of the North American economy and lagging sales in the communications market, the electronics manufacturing services (EMS) industry experienced a negative growth rate last year for the first time since 1985. The 2001 Analysis of the North American Market for Electronics Manufacturing Services reports an estimated $35.8 billion in sales in 2001, which was a $3.6 billion downturn from 2000 sales of $39.4 billion.

The report was commissioned by the Technology Market Research Council (TMRC), and it details trends for the EMS industry in 2001. All report data was provided to IPC from 37 North American EMS providers with approximate 2001 net sales of $8.7 billion, representing nearly 30 percent of the total estimated North American independent electronics assembly industry in 2001. Despite the downturn, the report positively projects the EMS industry�s future, forecasting $60.1 billion in sales by the year 2005.

�This report captures the dynamics of the North American EMS industry in 2001 by examining a cross-section of EMS providers,� said John Hassman, IPC market research manager. �Additional research data will be available at the upcoming TMRC conference in Chicago on May 14-15, where speakers will focus on new market opportunities for the EMS and PCB markets.�

According to the report, the EMS industry continues to predominantly cater to the computer (41.1 percent) and communications (32.2 percent) markets. However, the instrumentation sector experienced a 3.9 percent increase, reporting a 9.9 percent share of the markets served by the EMS industry in 2001. The instrumentation sector includes test and measurement equipment, medical instruments, medical testers, and analytical, nuclear, lasers, scientific instruments and implant devices.

The report also indicates that most of the EMS industry (56.8 percent) continues to invest in automated assembly, including both through hole and surface mount, while 18.4 percent invest in testing equipment and 7.8 percent in MIS hardware/software.

The report projects that the total available market for EMS companies, excluding system and box build activities, will total $115.5 billion and will consist of assembly services ($43.9 billion), semiconductors ($41.7 billion), passive components ($15.1 billion), design, test, prototype, rework and repair services ($7.5 billion) and printed circuit board (PCB) consumption ($7.3 billion). The report also estimates that the EMS market will continue to expand, primarily through acquisitions, and will hold 30 percent of the total available North American electronics assembly market.