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The Shaughnessy Report: The Winds of Change

When IPC APEX EXPO took place in San Diego, a few of us editors would occasionally rent a sailboat and head out for an afternoon on the water. We rarely checked the weather, because Southern California’s weather is almost always perfect—75 degrees and sunny, with light winds. We didn’t have much game plan; we just sailed around San Diego Bay for hours.

Worst-case scenario? A spilled drink.

But it’s a different story for today’s PCB fabricators, who need to check their forecasts constantly. The global economic seas can go from calm to choppy to stormy overnight. If you don’t know the economic outlook for businesses like yours, your company might sink faster than the Titanic. But, as you’ll learn in this month’s issue, if you have an accurate economic outlook, you’ll not only survive—you’ll thrive. Your sailboat will be leading the regatta.

That’s where we come in. We recently spoke with some of the biggest names in PCB manufacturing, and they shared their economic outlooks for the upcoming year. I would sum up their overall outlook as “cautiously optimistic.” They were all bullish on our industry, but there was some apprehension. No one wants to get burned by another supply chain debacle.

In the December 2023 issue of PCB007 Magazine, our expert contributors share their thoughts on the economic outlook for 2024 and beyond. IPC Chief Economist Shawn DuBravac starts by providing his industry forecast for 2024. Consultant Joe O’Neil discusses some of his concerns as we move into the new year, but his overall outlook is very positive. IPC’s John Mitchell describes his strategy for handling tough economic times as “blocking and tackling.” Amitron’s Aidan Salvi shares his global outlook for fabricators; he’s recently visited fabricators in Asia and Europe, as well as in the U.S.

Accurate Circuit Engineering's GM, James Hofer, explains why he’s optimistic about the future of his company—and the overall industry. As James says, defense and aerospace are good segments to be working in today. Columnist Steve Williams has a few tips and techniques that can keep your business strong in a downturn. Philippe Leonard and Francisco Fourcade of IPC Europe discuss their plans to educate policymakers on the needs of our industry, and PCBAA’s David Schild explains how government agencies—federal, state, and local—became willing to (finally) invest in American fabricators.

It's been a great 2023, and 2024 is looking pretty good too. Fair winds and following seas to you and yours.

This column originally appears in the December 2023 issue of PCB007 Magazine.