World Electronic Circuits Council Issues Seminal Report on Global PCB Production

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The World Electronic Circuits Council (WECC), a global partnership of major electronic circuits industry trade associations, announces the publication of its first collaborative statistical report, "WECC Global PCB Production Report - 2005 Baseline Data." With data from companies in the major producing countries/regions included, total PCB production in 2005 is estimated at just over 42.4 billion (U.S. dollars).<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

In 2005, the member organizations of WECC (of which IPC - Association Connecting Electronic Industries(R) is a founding member) formed a working group to pool their statistical data and produce a global statistical report on printed circuit board (PCB) production for the benefit of their members.  "Combining statistics from eight organizations into one global report was an enormous challenge," said Sharon Starr, member of the WECC global statistics working group and IPC director of market research.  "Among the eight WECC associations, there were differences in the data collected due to the use of different product categories, definitions and methodologies.  We all had to make adjustments in our programs to standardize our data.  This effort took nearly two years to bring to fruition, but we overcame the hurdles and are now able to move forward with a new and extremely valuable source of global PCB statistics for our members."

The 2005 baseline report includes estimates of PCB production by country or region and product category based on the data collected by the WECC organizations from their member PCB companies. Future reports will be published semi-annually and will include year-on-year growth rates and current-year forecasts.

Currently, the reports are available to selected members of associations participating in WECC. For additional information on the report, please contact Sharon Starr, IPC director of market research at +1 847-597-2817 or SharonStarr@ipc.org .

About IPC

IPC (www.ipc.org ) is a global trade association based in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Bannockburn, Ill., dedicated to the competitive excellence and financial success of its 2,400 member companies which represent all facets of the electronics interconnect industry, including design, printed circuit board manufacturing and electronics assembly. As a member-driven organization and leading source for industry standards, training, market research and public policy advocacy, IPC supports programs to meet the needs of an estimated $3.4 trillion global electronics industry. IPC maintains additional offices in Taos, N.M.; Arlington, Va.; Garden Grove, Calif.; Stockholm, Sweden; and Shanghai, China.

About WECC

The World Electronic Circuits Council is a strategic partnership formed in 1998 by the major trade organizations serving member companies in the global electronic circuits industry. Its purpose is to increase the global influence and effectiveness of its member organizations for the benefit and improvement of the industry. The organizations cooperate on standards, market research, marketing, resource development, environmental issues, world trade and economic/political affairs. WECC comprises the following associations: China Printed Circuit Association, European Institute of Printed Circuits, Hong Kong Printed Circuit Association, IPC - Association Connecting Electronics Industries, Indian Printed Circuit Association, Japan Electronics Packaging and Circuits Association, Korea Printed Circuit Association, and Taiwan Printed Circuit Association.