Several electronic technologies are converging to increase demand in the PCB Industry over the next several years. The driving opportunity is the explosive demand for smart phones and tablet computers.
Mobile technology is growing faster than any technology in history. Faster than radio, television, computers and the internet. According to Pew Research, as of September, 2013 "63 percent of mobile phone owners now use their phone to go online!"
Mobile is a key category behind the electronics industry rebound from a modest downturn; "North American electronics industry has been recovering gradually from a slowdown that began in December 2013."
There is also good news for the PCB and PCBA industries in the "Internet of Things" (IoT) and the expansion of cloud based computing, both driving increased demand for storage, routers, and servers.
Still another factor that should drive industry growth is the propensity to embed technology into everything imaginable. Intelligence is now being embedded in pills that a patient swallows to take pictures of their digestive tract, they are in cameras that monitor traffic on the highway, there are in appliances that can advise homeowners when they are running low on groceries. Even if the miniaturization itself does not directly impact PCB, it again drives demand for more servers, storage, and routers.
The convergence of smart phones, tablets, the Internet of Things, Cloud based computing, and embedded devices should bode well for every industry that is connected to them.
