I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

Hey, wait a minute, this is the lead-up to the penultimate holiday week, so why is the news cycle so busy? Normally, this period of time—what with all the holiday distraction—is when companies either go quiet or publish press releases covering those throwaway news items. Instead, this week brought in so much important news that I had to be quite discerning in my choices. Newsletter subscribers definitely got a lot of news this week.

Which reminds me: If you’re not a subscriber to our Daily Newsletter, I encourage you to go to my I-Connect007 right now and subscribe. It’s free, and you can choose all the targeted content you want, from magazines to newsletters. You won’t regret it. 

It’ll be 2025 soon enough, so I close out this year wishing you all a wonderful holiday season.

Automotive PCB Market Share to Rise at 5.4% CAGR, to Reach $16.43 Billion by 2034
Published December 18 

The report establishes that:

• The market for automotive PCB is driven by a notable rise in electrification and modernization of vehicles.
• The double-sided PCB segment is expected to experience the highest CAGR during the forecast period.

There is more in the report that is well worth a review.

Biden-Harris Administration Announces Preliminary Terms with Bosch to Advance U.S. Supply Chain Resiliency of Crucial Semiconductor Manufacturing Components
Published December 13

As most of us know, Bosch is a tier 1 automotive supplier. This proposed $225 million investment would support Bosch’s planned $1.9 billion investment in its in Roseville, California facility, which produces silicon carbide (SiC) power semiconductors. This proposed expansion of this, Bosch’s largest SiC device factory would increase production capacity, create up to 1,000 construction jobs and up to 700 manufacturing, engineering, and research and development jobs in California.

Ventec Confirms Thailand as Location for New State-of-the-Art PCB Material Manufacturing Facility
Published December 17

Ventec continues expanding manufacturing outside China. This $17 million Thai facility will be built on 8.4 acres in the Hi-Tech Industrial Estate in the Ayutthaya province north of Bangkok. This project would seem to reinforce Ventec’s commitment to global supply chain resiliency, and customer proximity in the developing Southeast Asia PCB manufacturing hub. 

Sayonara to the Last Standing Copper Foil Plant in North America
Published December 17

The U.S. is now faced with the closure of the last standing copper foil manufacturing plant in North America serving the PCB fabrication industry and supporting many U.S. military and defense products. Undoubtedly this will cause a ripple within the U.S. supply chain. Read more of Marcy LaRont’s analysis here. 

EMI Shielding Market worth $9.69 Billion in 2029
Published December 19

What’s creating this sort of growth in EMI shielding? The report stipulates that pressure to meet strict EMC standards has increased regulatory requirements, and the emergence of connected and smart devices has sharply increased the demand for advanced shielding materials.Just another reminder that the electronics industry continues to morph into a holistic design-and-manufacture operational model. To my point, EMI shielding used to be effectively a mechanical design consideration; increasingly, it needs to be specified during board design.