In this article, in4ma’s founder and president, Dieter Weiss, reveals key findings from research into the performance of the European electronics manufacturing services sector.
An annual survey by in4ma, sponsored by IPC Electronics Europe, found the European electronics manufacturing services (EMS) industry experienced a robust 11 per cent growth in 2023. Printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) production by EMS companies achieved record revenues of €57.3B in 2023, underscoring electronics manufacturing’s vital role in the European economy and industrial base.
In4ma’s founder, president and lead architect of the survey, Dieter Weiss, stated that 306 legal entities contributed data to this year’s survey, which represented a 50 per cent expansion in participants in just three years.
Key year-over-year industry takeaways from the survey data included:
- Eighty-one per cent of EMS companies had higher revenues than the previous year.
- Employment in the EMS industry increased by approximately 14,000 to just over 254,000 total, which represented employment growth of 5.9 per cent.
- EMS production of PCBAs represented only 43 per cent of the total market of European PCBA production in Europe, so long-term growth potential still exists.
- The market remained very top heavy, with less than four per cent of the total EMS companies in Europe representing over 70 per cent of revenue.
- Excessive raw materials in inventory were calculated to be €5.2B.
- Market consolidation will continue in 2024, as witnessed by 12 merger and acquisition deals completed just in the first two months of the new year.
- Overall prognosis for 2024 is that the European EMS market could contract by up to one percent.