Globally recognized Dr. Hayao Nakahara, Chairman of the authoritative survey research institution, N.T. Information, released the NTI-100 in 2019 Global：Top 100 PCB Rankings and Industry News. According to Dr. Hayao Nakahara’s survey report, 122 makers have reached annual revenues of more than US$ 100 million, up from 118 makers in 2018. 
　　As detailed in the report, the manufacturers are made up of 52 from China, 27 from Taiwan, 18 from Japan, 12 from Korea, 4 from the U.S., 5 from Europe, and 4 from Southeast Asia. This is the 25th year Dr. Hayao Nakahara conducted the survey about the output of the global PCB companies. Particularly, the report compares the data from 2019 to that of 2000. In 2000, 20 U.S. companies and 16 European companies were on the list, while in 2019, only 4 U.S. ones and 5 European ones were on the list. In contrast, the total number of companies from China, Taiwan, Japan and Korea increased from 83 in 2000 to 109 in 2019. It is easy to gain insights into the change to the global industry.

The rise of Chinese companies   The shoe is on the other foot
　　In 2000, among the top 122 PCB makers around the world, there were only 6 “Chinese makers” where China Circuit Technology (Shantou) Corporation (CCTC) is the only “local Chinese manufacturer” while the others are Hong Kong companies. In 2019, there were 52 Chinese and Hong Kong manufacturers. Additionally, the total revenues of the top 6 Chinese companies reached US$ 961 million in 2000 while in 2019, 52 Chinese companies entered the list with total revenues of US$ 16.735 billion. The report also indicated that more than 10 Chinese makers almost reached revenues of US$ 100 million. It is expected that more Chinese companies will make it onto the list in the future. As seen by Chinese PCB production patterns, while consumer products are the main applications, the multi-layer rigid PCB remains the main product, accounting for 80%. Since last year, China has continued to increase the investment in 5G infrastructure and drive domestic demands for 5G applications. These national policies contribute to the strong future development of the Chinese one-stop supply chain strategy.

Japanese makers are still in the Groan Zone during their transformation 
　　In 2000, among the top 122 PCB makers around the world, 51 were Japanese manufacturers whose number and output value was growing when compared to those of the Chinese, Taiwanese, and Korean makers. In 2019, there were only 18 Japanese companies. The total revenues of 2019 (US$ 11.183 billion) were almost identical to that of 2000 (US$ 11.975 billion). It is easy to see that the Japanese PCB makers have been struggling these years. Their development has been mostly focused on the flex PCB and substrate. Due to the fierce competition in the mobile phone market, their ratio has been decreased to 40%. The Japanese PCB industry is transforming into emerging applications derived from the 5G technology from communications equipment, such as those for the automobile, robotic, and biomedical industries. The production ratio of substrate has been gradually increased. By the way, Japanese manufacturers remain the most complete and competitive in the field of high-end PCB materials.

Korean PCB makers work with their national brands
　　It can be said that the development of the Korean PCB industry is the epitome of Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics over the past 20 years. The entire Korean PCB industry has been aligned with both major brands. For example, Samsung Electronics’ mobile phone manufacturing has been re-located to Vietnam together with its FPC production. All of its mobile phone manufacturing bases in China were closed. Samsung Electro-Mechanics also closed its HDI factories in Kunshan. While their domestic production accounts for 60% of the total production, the Korean PCB makers have gradually re-located their production bases into the overseas areas where most of them are based in Northern Vietnam. For example, SI Flex does not have any production bases in Korea. LG Innotek closed its HDI and PCB factories in Korea and now focuses on the IC substrate. For product strategies, in addition to its reliance on the domestic brands, they dabble in the smartphones, semi-conductor, infrastructure, and consumer products. The main products supplied are flex PCBs and substrates, accounting for more than 30%.

New Horizon, New Battles, and New Strategies of Taiwanese Companies
　　Taiwan is the largest PCB manufacturing region in the world with an output of more than US$ 22 billion. However, in terms of production, about 60% of the revenues from Taiwanese manufacturers come from Mainland China. In recent years, Taiwanese companies continue to invest in Mainland China, but the amount of Taiwanese companies that have invested in high-end processes in Taiwan has continuously set new records due to some factors, such as international trading, coronavirus, and high-end 5G technologies. To diversify the production bases, they also look at other bases. In terms of production patterns, multi-layer rigid PCBs, flex PCBs, HDI PCBs, and IC substrates are main products. Overall, Taiwanese companies have better diversified their production bases than other companies in other countries. For the IC substrates which are considered as the battlefield of the high-end PCB technology, Taiwan is the most important manufacturer of IC substrates in the world and stays ahead of Korea, Japan, and China. When facing this furious competition, Taiwan has its inherent advantages, i.e., advanced semi-conductor processes, and must deploy state-of-the-art PCB technologies and smart manufacturing in advance, combined with the advantages of its semi-conductor industry to remain competitive.

Remarks：
The complete edition of the “NTI-100 in 2019 : Global Top 100 PCB Rankings and Industry News” survey report will be published on the TPCA Quarterly Issue 89 and the TPCA official website.