Global and China Printed Circuit Board (pcb) Market Survey 2023
China Printed circuit board basic introduction: The PCB application field of the printed circuit board is very wide, covering communication electronics, consumer electronics, automotive electronics, industrial control, medical equipment and aerospace and other electronic information industry major fields. Printed circuit boards have a variety of different classification methods according to the number of conductive graphic layers, substrate type, substrate structure, downstream industry, or technical process standards.
- According to the number of circuit board layers: printed circuit boards can usually be divided into single-sided, double-sided and multi-layer PCB board, its main product characteristics and application areas are as follows:
Product Type Product Features Main application areas Single-sided PCB Board One side of the insulating substrate is covered with copper, and the wire layer and welding pad are made by image transfer method on the copper layer, which is characterized by fast graphic production process, short production cycle, low production cost and high product quality and stability. Ordinary household appliances, industrial power supply, fast charging sources, car lights and other simple electronic products. Double-sided PCB Board A circuit board of circuit structure is arranged on two sides of the insulating substrate, and the two sides of the circuit are connected through a through hole. Compared with the single panel, the application of the double panel is basically the same as the single panel, the main feature is to increase the wiring density per unit area, its structure is more complex than the single panel, and the production process is increased. Consumer electronics, automotive electronics, communication equipment, industrial control and other fields. Multilayer PCB board The biggest difference between PCB multi-layer board and single panel and double panel is to increase the internal power layer and ground layer, with one double-sided inner layer, two single-sided outer layers or multiple double-sided inner layers, two single-sided outer printed circuit board. Through the positioning system and insulation materials are alternately superimposed together and the conductive graphics are interconnected according to the design requirements of the printed circuit board becomes a four-layer, six-layer and more printed circuit board, also known as multi-layer printed circuit board. The power and ground network is mainly routed on the power layer. Multi-layer board wiring is mainly based on the top and bottom layers, supplemented by the middle wiring layer. The design method of a multi-layer board is basically the same as that of double layers, and the key lies in how to optimize the wiring of the internal electrical layer so that the wiring of the circuit board is more reasonable and the electromagnetic compatibility is better. The more layers of multi-layer board, the higher the technical level, and the stronger the technical support ability for the product. Consumer electronics, battery management systems, servers, automotive electronics, energy storage, 5G communications, medical devices and other fields. - According to the board material division: printed circuit board is divided into the rigid board, flexible board (flexible board), rigid and flexible combined board (rigid and flexible combined board) and other categories, its main product characteristics and application areas are as follows:
PCB Type Product Features Main application areas Rigid PCB board A printed circuit board made of a rigid substrate that is not easy to bend and has a certain degree of strength can provide support for electronic components attached to it. Consumer electronics, automotive electronics, industrial control, household appliances and communication equipment. Flexible PCB board The printed circuit board made of flexible substrate is characterized by free bending, winding and folding, which meets the development trend of miniaturization, thinness and wearability of electronic products. Smartphones, laptops, tablets and other portable electronic devices. Rigid-flex PCB board A printed circuit board contains a flexible zone and a rigid zone, and the rigid circuit board and the rigid circuit board are laminated into a single component: it can provide the support role of a rigid board, but also has the bending characteristics of a flexible board. Advanced medical electronic equipment, portable cameras and folding computer equipment.
- According to a special process, special substrate division: printed circuit board according to a special process, special substrate division is mainly as follows:
PCB Type Product Features Main application areas Ceramic PCB board Ceramic circuit board refers to the ceramic substrate covered with copper, drilling, etching lines, surface treatment and other processing processes to form a PCB board with the same electrical interconnection as the circuit board, with good electrical performance, it has good thermal conductivity, excellent insulation performance, high-frequency characteristics, high-temperature resistance, corrosion resistance, pressure resistance, inorganic environmental protection and other characteristics. 5G base station, electronic and electrical, transportation rail, aerospace products, automotive radar and other fields. Embedded capacity/embedded resistance material circuit board Capacitance/buried resistance material circuit board refers to the capacitor and resistance into the board inside the product, this product is designed to support more functions, higher clock rate and lower voltage, the capacitor and resistance into the board inside the board to save the surface space of the board, reduce the amount of inductance introduced, thereby reducing the impedance of the power system. Communication equipment, industrial control, automotive electronics, medical instruments, security electronics, consumer electronics, aerospace and other fields. High-frequency/high-speed material circuit board High frequency/high-speed material circuit board using very low-grade signal transmission loss materials, with high frequency and high speed as well as integration, miniaturization, lightweight, multi-function and high-reliability characteristics. Generally, for impedance control, multistage back drilling and other structures of one or more high-rise circuit boards, in harsh environmental conditions can show faster signal transmission speed, less signal delay, and lower signal transmission loss. Aerospace, automotive radar, 5G base stations, antennas and other fields. Inlaid with copper columns Embedded copper column board refers to the different shapes of copper columns embedded into the circuit board internal design products, such product design to support the circuit board local better heat dissipation performance and patch performance, the embedded copper column needs to be with the circuit board design slot or round hole has a high tightness combination. High power supply, high heat dissipation lamps and new energy battery control module and other fields. Teflon PCB board Teflon board is a special circuit board made of Teflon material, which has the characteristics of low transmission loss, low transmission delay, and high characteristic impedance precision control. Communication base stations, automotive assistance systems, aerospace technology, satellite communications, satellite television, military radar and other high-frequency communication fields. HDI PCB board HDI board is short for High-Density Interconnect printed circuit board, also known as microporous board or laminate board. HDI is a kind of printed circuit board technology, which can achieve high-density wiring and is often used to make high-precision circuit boards. The HDI board is generally manufactured by layering method, and the laser drilling technology is used to drill holes through the layering so that the whole printed circuit board forms the interlayer connection with buried and blind holes as the main conduction mode. HDI board to achieve the printed circuit board of high density, fine wire, small aperture and other characteristics. Consumer electronics, automotive electronics. Substrate PCB Substrate refers to the IC carrier board, which is directly used to carry the chip, which can provide electrical connection, protection, support, heat dissipation, assembly and other effects for the chip to achieve multi-pin, reduce the size of the packaged product, improve the electrical performance and heat dissipation, ultra-high density or the purpose of multi-chip modularization. Packaging substrate is an interdisciplinary technology, involving electronics, physics, chemistry and other knowledge. Semiconductor chip packaging field.
Analysis of the current situation of the global market: Printed circuit boards were invented in the 1930s and were initially mainly used in military products; In the mid-1950s, printed circuit boards became widely commercially available. After more than 80 years of development, the PCB industry has become the largest output value of the global electronic component industry, and the global PCB market size has reached 60 billion US dollars. In 2020, the economy is under pressure due to the impact of the external environment, but the online behavior spawned by 5G infrastructure construction, cloud computing, big data, and artificial intelligence has stimulated the growth of demand for the electronics industry, and the market demand for China printed circuit boards, as the “mother of the electronics industry”, will continue to show a steady growth trend in the next few years, and the industry will continue to expand.
At present, the PCB industry is in the fifth round of the growth cycle, mainly by 5G to bring cloud computing and the Internet of Things and other technological changes, to help the growth of 5G base stations, communication equipment and new energy vehicles. The total China Printed Circuit Board output value in 2023 has reached $80.92 billion.
With the division of labor in the global PCB industrial chain, the proportion of PCB output value in various countries and regions is constantly changing. PCB supply chain in the early days of Europe and the United States as the center, after World War II gradually developed into a situation dominated by Europe, the United States and Japan, in 2000, the three regions accounted for more than 70% of the global PCB production output value; From 2008 to 2020, the proportion of Europe and the United States gradually decreased, and the proportion of Asia gradually increased, among which mainland China increased the fastest. In 2023, the output value of mainland China was 44.15 billion US dollars, accounting for 54.56%, ranking first in the world, and the total output value of Europe, the United States and Japan was 12.556 billion US dollars, accounting for 15.51%.
Analysis of global PCB output value in 2020-2023
| Country and region | 2020 | 2023 | 2026 Predict | 2020-2023
Compound annual growth rate |
2023-2026
Compound annual growth rate |
| USA | 29.43 | 32.46 | 38.80 | 10.30% | 3.63% |
| Europe | 17.27 | 20.02 | 23.81 | 15.92% | 3.53% |
| Japan | 57.71 | 73.08 | 91.02 | 26.63% | 4.49% |
| China Mainland | 351.24 | 441.50 | 546.05 | 25.70% | 4.34% |
| Korea | 68.81 | 82.67 | 100.45 | 20.14% | 3.97% |
| China Taiwan | 82.66 | 101.82 | 131.93 | 23.18% | 5.32% |
| other region | 45.07 | 57.65 | 83.53 | 27.91% | 7.70% |
| Sub-total | 652.19 | 809.20 | 1,015.59 | 24.07% | 4.65% |
Product structure: Multi-layer board in the global PCB industry output value accounted for the largest, 2008-2023 annual output value accounted for more than 35% of the total output value of the industry in 2023 multi-layer board output value of 31.053 billion US dollars, accounting for 38.37%; Board output value of 31.053 billion US dollars, accounting for 38.37%; The second is the packaging substrate, the output value of packaging substrate in 2023 is 14.410 billion US dollars, accounting for 17.81%; Flexible board, HDI board, single/double panel accounted for 17.37%, 14.60%, and 11.85%, respectively.
With the trend of technological changes such as automobile electrification and intelligence and 5G bringing cloud computing and the Internet of Things, PCB solutions are diversified, and the market demand for high-density, high-layer, high-tech PCB products will become more prominent. From the traditional multi-layer board-based solution to the metal substrate, thick copper substrate, buried capacity/buried resistance material circuit board, high frequency/high-speed material circuit board, HDI and another special process, special substrate PCB solution evolution.
Analysis of China Printed Circuit Board product structure in 2020-2023
| Product structure | 2020 | 2023 | 2026 Predict | 2020-2023
Compound annual growth rate |
2023-2026 Compound annual growth rate |
| Single-double | 79.11 | 95.89 | 107.79 | 21.21% | 2.37% |
| Multi-layers | 247.63 | 310.53 | 371.54 | 25.40% | 3.65% |
| HDI | 98.74 | 118.11 | 150.12 | 19.62% | 4.91% |
| Substrate | 101.88 | 144.1 | 214.35 | 41.44% | 8.27% |
| Flexible | 124.83 | 140.58 | 171.79 | 12.62% | 4.09% |
| Sub-total | 652.19 | 809.20 | 1015.59 | 24.07% | 4.65% |
Application field: According to the statistics of CICC enterprise letter: Among all kinds of PCB applications in China in 2023, communication accounts for 19.92%, ranking first; Computer accounted for 17.97%, ranking second; Consumer electronics accounted for 14.65%, ranking third; Automotive electronics accounted for 10.79%, ranking fourth. It can be seen that in the China PCB downstream application field, communications, computers, consumer electronics and automotive electronics are the four most important downstream areas. Benefiting from the general trend of automobile electrification and intelligence, the amount of bicycle PCB increases, and automotive PCB will show a significant growth trend by 2026, and the compound growth rate of downstream applications in automotive electronics from 2023 to 2026 will be about 7.91%.
Analysis of China PCB application growth data in 2020-2023
| Application | 2020 | 2023 | 2026 Predict | 2020-2023Compound annual growth rate | 2023-2026 Compound annual growth rate |
| Telecommunication | 139.5 | 161.16 | 209.64 | 15.53% | 5.40% |
| computer | 112.2 | 145.42 | 145.21 | 29.61% | -0.03% |
| Consumer electronics | 94.66 | 118.58 | 143.36 | 25.27% | 3.87% |
| Automotive electronics | 65.07 | 87.28 | 127.72 | 34.13% | 7.91% |
| Server | 58.76 | 78.04 | 124.94 | 32.81% | 9.87% |
| Wired infrastructure | 49.68 | 61.11 | 80.01 | 23.01% | 5.54% |
| Others | 38.01 | 45.54 | 49.69 | 19.81% | 1.76% |
| Wireless infrastructure | 27.71 | 33.37 | 43.32 | 20.43% | 5.36% |
| Industrial control | 25.63 | 32.26 | 38.32 | 25.87% | 3.50% |
| Military aviation | 28.24 | 31.13 | 35.96 | 10.23% | 2.93% |
| Medical | 12.73 | 15.32 | 17.43 | 20.35% | 2.61% |
| Sub-total | 652.19 | 809.20 | 1,015.59 | 24.07% | 4.65% |
