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Nuttall: It appears that tariffs are coming. We’ve discussed increasing our prices, but it's not as simple as that. We have a tariff that is being added that's out of our control. Many customers are open to it and accept it. They're seeing tariffs on products that they're bringing in. We still see some customers that are trying to close their ears to it, but it seems that it's on the horizon and getting closer.
We have robust logistics channels, a strong team, and allocated resources in each particular office, so we can find ways to work around it. Some of the smaller companies will have to pay the potential tariffs before they sell the product, which is going to hurt the industry. Thankfully, we're large enough that we can weather some of the storms, but we'll feel a pinch.
Materials, lead times, and components, are impacting us in a way—they are and they aren’t. We're still seeing a buoyant market. There are a couple barometers that seem to be pointing hot and cold. However, we've had a reasonable couple of months. Where we see challenges is when we want boards quickly. Thus, we have a demand for orders to be shipped out as soon as the components arrive—almost immediately. We have to continue to be agile, flexible, and do what we can to support the customer.
Are we seeing customers push out orders? Not so much. We’re in a stage now where the component issues have been around for a long time. People are working around them and managing their order books accordingly. It’s painful, but we're working around it.
Johnson: That relates to our final item. You started providing a forward-looking industry report, this year, correct?
Nuttall: Yes, it's a market watch. This is something we've done for a few years. We do it twice a year. We look at a number of barometers, including the PCB outlook, global indexes and forecasts, material and semiconductor trends, economic factors, and what's influencing the current year. Then, we try to map them against what's happening and figure out how to predict the next year. Mapping these pieces of the jigsaw puzzle together provides an indication. For example, in 2018, we know that the global industry's going to grow 3.8%, but moving out over the next couple of years, it's going to slow down to 3.2%, but that's still growth. China is where we see the most significant growth—approximately 3.8%—and that's not surprising because over 50% of the global market is there. However, other areas are going to slow down a little bit for sure.
Johnson: As I understand it, do you use as an internal tool and share it with your customers?
Nuttall: Yes, we share it with our customers. It gives them insight into the electronics industry and hopefully helps them in their businesses and provides interesting reading. There doesn't seem to be a single source that makes any projections—positive or negative—that covers all of these factors.
Johnson: This is another value-add to your customer base.
Nuttall: Definitely. In most cases, we're pretty positive or correct in our outlook.
Johnson: What’s the best way for someone to contact you about fabrication services, accessing your report, or anything else?
Nuttall: Look at our website or contact our local office. We'd be delighted to engage with on whatever you need.
Johnson: Thanks for your time. It has been great to speak with you.
Nuttall: My pleasure.
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