PCB Materials Market - Forecast(2023 - 2028)

PCB Materials Market Overview

The PCB Materials Market is forecast to reach US$18.3 billion by 2026, after growing at a CAGR of 5.3% during the forecast period 2021-2026. The PCB Materials play a major role in the manufacturing of the PCB (Printed Circuit Boards) since the performance of the PCB primarily depends on the materials used to produce it. The materials that are primarily used to fabricate the PCBs include polytetrafluoroethylene, copper-clad laminate with fiberglass reinforcing material, and thermoset resin encapsulation and insulation of PCB. According to recent insights from the Semiconductor Industry Association, China imported around US$378 billion in semiconductors, accumulated 35% of the world’s electronic devices, and was responsible for 30% to 70% of the global PC, TV, and mobile phone exports in 2020. The increasing demand for PCB materials from the electronics industry and the automotive industry act as major drivers for the market. On the other hand, frequent functional failure of PCBs may act as a major constraint for the market.

COVID-19 Impact

There is no doubt that the COVID-19 lockdown has significantly reduced construction, and production activities which in turn, has resulted in the country-wise shutdown of construction sites, shortage of labor, and the decline of supply and demand chain all over the world, thus, affecting the market. Studies show that the outbreak of COVID-19 sharply declined the production of raw materials in 2020 due to a lack of operations across multiple countries around the world. However, a slow recovery in the electronic industry has been witnessed across many countries around the world since 2021. An increase in work from home and e-learning practices during COVID-19 has significantly led to high demand for laptops, tablets, and smartphones which have resulted in the higher production of these electronics. For instance, according to the Retailers Association of India (RAI), consumer electronics net sales increased by 2 % in September and 8% in October 2020, in comparison to 2019, owing to the increase for electronic devices for remote practices during COVID-19.

In this way, a slow and steady increase in electronics production activities will require the use of PCB Materials like polytetrafluoroethylene, copper clad laminate with fiberglass reinforcing material, and other materials for the production of PCBs used in these electronic gadgets. This will eventually lead to an increase in demand for PCB Materials which indicates a slow and steady recovery of the market in the upcoming years.

PCB Materials Market Report Coverage

The report: “PCB Materials Market – Forecast (2021-2026)”, by IndustryARC covers an in-depth analysis of the following segments of the PCB Materials Industry.

By Type: FR-4, PTFE (Polytetrafluoroethylene), Metal, Others.
By Product Type: Single-Sided PCBs, Double-Sided PCBs, Multi-layer PCBs, Rigid PCBs, High-Frequency PCBs, Aluminum backed PCBs, Others.
By Type of Raw Materials: Pre-preg (pre-impregnated materials), Copper foil, Substrate, Ink, Others.
By End-Use Industry: Consumer Electronics, Industrial Electronics, Healthcare, Aerospace & Defense, Automotive, IT & Telecom, Marine, Others.
By Geography: North America (USA, Canada, and Mexico), Europe (the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Russia, Belgium and the Rest of Europe), Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, India, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, Indonesia, Taiwan, Malaysia, and the Rest of Asia-Pacific), South America (Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Chile and the Rest of South America), the Rest of the World (the Middle East, and Africa).

Key Takeaways

• The Consumer Electronics in PCB Materials Market is expected to see the fastest growth, especially during the forecast period. The major reason behind this is the increasing demand for PCB materials required for the production of electronic equipment, such as calculators, circuit boards, remote control units and other electronic components.
• FR-4 material segment in PCB Materials Market is expected to see the fastest growth, especially during the forecast period, owing to its increasing demand and benefits over other types of PCB materials such as PTFE (Polytetrafluoroethylene), Metal, and other PCB materials.
• Asia-Pacific dominated the PCB Materials Market in 2020, with countries like China, Japan, South Korea, and India most likely to drive the market growth, owing to the increasing demand from the electronics and automotive sectors from the region.

Figure: Asia-Pacific PCB Materials Market Revenue, 2020-2026 (US$ Billion)

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PCB Materials Market Segment Analysis – By Type

The FR-4 material type held the largest share in the PCB Materials Market in 2020, and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.4% between 2021 and 2026, owing to the increasing demand for FR-4 for the production of PCBs. FR-4 is composed of fiber glass-reinforced epoxy laminate sheet which makes it water-resistant and flame retardant in comparison to PTFE (Polytetrafluoroethylene), Metal, and other PCB materials. Moreover, FR-4 also delivers good strength in proportion to weight ratios, offers a very high tensile strength, offers good electrical insulation properties, and it is a cost-effective or low cost material in comparison to PTFE (Teflon), Metal, and other PCB materials, which makes it ideal for use in the production of PCBs for electronic equipment and devices. Hence, all of these factors are most likely to boost market growth in the upcoming years.

PCB Materials Market Segment Analysis – By Product Type

The Multi-Layer PCBs held a significant share in the PCB Materials Market in 2020, owing to its increasing demand due to the properties and advantages they offer. Multi-Layer PCBs are composed of more than two layers of copper clad laminate, in which the layers are separated by the different layers of insulating materials and substrate board. Moreover, Multi-Layer PCBs offers high flexibility in design, are more compact in size, are faster and provides high speed circuits, offers advantage of weight and space, along with providing more space for conductor power and pattern in comparison to Single Sided, Rigid, High Frequency, Aluminium Backed and other PCBs. All of these factors will eventually increase the demand for PCB materials required in the production of Multi-layer PCBs, thus, boosting the market growth.

PCB Materials Market Segment Analysis – By Type of Raw Materials

The Substrate segment held a significant share in the PCB Materials Market in 2020, owing to a range of advantages they offer. The substrate is responsible for providing a structure that physically holds the printed wires and circuit components in place along with electrical insulation between its conductive parts. The substrate that is most commonly used in PCBs is composed of a fiber glass reinforced epoxy resin along with a copper foil that is attached on one or both sides. Substrates are soft and flexible materials and offer a wide range of benefits such as corrosion resistance, water resistance, shock resistance, low dissipation, temperature stability, high chemical resistance, good electric properties, and good resistance to radiation and high temperatures in comparison to pre-preg (preimprenated materials), copper foil, substrate, ink and other raw materials. All of these properties makes them ideal for use in PCBs for applications such as power amplifiers, instrument panels, antennas, cameras, calculators, automotive cruise control, x-ray machines, electronic systems on airplanes, and gamma ray devices for medical applications, thus, leading to the growth of the PCB Materials Market in the upcoming years.

PCB Materials Market Segment Analysis – By Application

The Consumer Electronics held the largest share in the PCB Materials Market in 2020 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.5% between 2021 and 2026, owing to the increasing demand for PCB materials during the production of electronic gadgets across the globe. For instance, a recent study published on PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) states that the GDP growth rate of consumer electronics which includes electronic appliances and gadgets such as washing machines, televisions, computers, laptops, smartphones, tablets, and refrigerators in countries like India, China, US, and region like Europe is expected to increase up to 8.1%, 5.7%, 1.4%, and 1.7% respectively by 2022. According to recent insights published on Growth from Knowledge (GRK) in September 2021, the global consumer electronics industry obtained a total sales growth of $42.8 billion during the first quarter of 2021, an increase of 18% in comparison to 2020. This in turn, will increase the demand for PCB materials required for the production of PCBs to be installed in such electronic devices, hence, leading to market growth in the upcoming years. 

PCB Materials Market Segment Analysis – By Geography

The Asia Pacific held the largest share in the PCB Materials Market in 2020 up to 30%. The consumption of PCB Materials is particularly high in this region due to the increasing demand of PCB materials from the electronics sectors. For instance, according to a recent study published in the Economic Times (Telecom) in 2021, electronic manufacturing and production is valued around $ 100 billion in India currently. It further states that the mobile manufacturing in India is estimated to surpass INR 90000 crore ($12 trillion) by the end of 2021 as per the statement made by the Indian IT Minister. Likewise, according to the annual reports published by Samsung during the fourth quarter of 2020, the total revenue of the consumer electronics division was valued at KRW 13.6 trillion ($ 11.3 billion) with an operating profit of KRW 0.8 trillion ($ 668 million).

Hence, an increase in demand for the production of consumer electronics devices will require the use of PCB Materials such as polytetrafluoroethylene, copper clad laminate with fiber glass reinforcing material for the production of PCBs to be installed in such electronic devices. This is most likely to lead the growth of the PCB Materials Market.

PCB Materials Market Drivers

An increase in demand from the electronics industry is most likely to increase demand for the product

The demand for PCB Materials has been increasing rapidly as it is primarily used for fabrication and encapsulation of PCBs in the electronic equipment and devices. For instance, the Statistical Handbook of Japan 2021, states that the production and shipments of electronic equipment reached up to $52.6 billion during the fourth quarter of 2020, and is expected to increase in the upcoming year. According to the annual reports published by Samsung during the fourth quarter of 2020, the semiconductors division obtained a total revenue of $15.1 billion. Furthermore, Lenovo Group, a leading brand in consumer electronics and media, published the annual report for the fiscal year that ended in March 2021, which stated that the total revenue of the company reached up to $60,742 million in the fiscal year 2020/21, an increase by 20% in comparison to the fiscal year 2019/20. Recent insights from the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) states that the U.S invested around US$ 142.2 billion on computers, and US$ 53 billion on consumer electronics such as cell phones, TV and other similar applications. It also states that China’s National IC Fund has invested US$39 billion until July 2021, among which 69.7% has been allotted for front-end manufacturing with the aim of increasing China’s share of global semiconductor production. In this way, an increase in demand for use of electronics products, components, and semiconductors will also increase the demand for PCB materials required to produce the PCBs installed in such devices. This is most likely to drive market growth in the upcoming years.

An increase in demand from the automotive industry is most likely to increase demand for the product

According to a recent study published by the German Association of Automotive Industry during the fourth quarter of 2020, the new registration of motor vehicles reached up to 16,763 units in Europe, 37,467 units in Asia, 3080 units in South America, 17,421 units in North America, 12,733 units in Western Europe, and 5180 units in other regions worldwide. Likewise, a recent study published by the International Netherlands Group (ING) states that the demand for the production and development of Electric Vehicles has been increasing since the beginning of pandemic. It states that the global sales of new Electric Vehicles have increased by 50% in 2021, and is expected to increase by 8% further in 2022. It further states that the sales of Electric Vehicles have increased by 14% in Europe, 9% in China, and 4% in the US.

Hence, an increase in demand and production of vehicles will also increase the demand for PCB materials required for the production of PCBs to be installed for automotive applications such as anti-lock brake systems, airbag controls, digital displays, audio-video systems, power steering, ignition systems, transmission sensors, windshield wipers, anti-theft systems, and other similar applications. This is most likely to drive the growth of the market in the upcoming years.

PCB Materials Market Challenges

Frequent functional failure of PCBs may cause an obstruction to the market growth

PCBs are crucial components of any electronic equipment or devices. However, PCBs can face a functional failure in many cases due to multiple reasons such as Component Design Failure due to incorrect placement of components, breakage of component barrier or chemical leakage, Material Defects due to the use of poor quality components, along with bending and breaking of PCBs due hike in power load or due to environmental factors such as over exposure to dust or heat. All of these factors may affect the increasing trend of PCB, which may confine the market growth.

PCB Materials Market Landscape

Technology launches, acquisitions, and R&D activities are key strategies adopted by players in the PCB Materials Market. PCB Materials Market top companies are:

• Atlas Fibre Company
• Ventec International Group
• Gabriel Benmayor S.A.
• San Francisco Circuits, Inc.
• Nippon Graphite Fiber Co. Ltd.
• Arlon Electronic Materials Division
• Panasonic Corporation
• Nan Ya Printed Circuit Board Corporation
• ITEQ Corporation
• Denka Company Limited

Acquisitions/Technology Launches

• In March 2020, Zhen Ding Technology Holding Limited completed the acquisition of Boardtek Electronics Corporation. It primarily focuses on the R&D, production, and sales of multilayer PCB to support high-performance computing, along with higher efficiency of thermal dissipation.
• In February 2020, TTM Technologies Inc. opened the Advanced Technology Center in Wisconsin, in order to provision a wide range of advanced solutions for PCB manufacturing in North America, which includes the facility to manufacture substrate-like PCBs as well.

Relevant Reports

Automotive PCB Market – Forecast (2021 - 2026)

Report Code: AM 55270

European Printed Circuit Board Market – Forecast (2021 - 2026)

Report Code: ESR 0625

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