Global Economic Recession Leads To Weak Demand for Mobile Boards

Due to the global economic recession and poor midseason Christmas sales expectations, semiconductor companies are delaying orders to control inventory. PCB industry insiders report a rapid decrease in orders since October, with clients generally requesting shipment delays. The fourth-quarter market outlook for PCBs is bleak. Even some well-performing notebook companies, like HannStar Board, GCE, and Tripod Technology, saw a 5-10% order decline in Q4.

The weak market demand in Q4 has led to reduced PCB orders. Amid the rise of netbooks and the replacement of desktop computers by traditional notebooks, some PCB manufacturers performed better than their peers. However, due to the economic downturn, manufacturers have lowered their expectations for Q4. Some PCB factories' capacity utilization rates have approached 60%, with some even halting operations due to lack of orders. Certain manufacturers have no CCL goods at all. The demand for EMS memory and panels is weak, and photovoltaic board orders have decreased by 20% in Q4.

Although the demand for mobile devices in mainland China is decent, international market orders have generally declined, especially for Nokia and Samsung Electronics. Despite a surge in Motorola orders in Q3 and Q4, industry experts predict a reduction starting in November, indicating further decline in mobile business performance from November onwards.

Tripod Technology noted that clients reduced orders since the end of October, shortening the order placement period. The company expects single-season operations to decline, with capacity utilization dropping from 85% to 80%. Legal analysts estimate that customer revenue will decrease by about 5% in Q4. Tripod stated that demand for NB boards and HDI will decline in Q4. To cope, they are implementing measures such as freezing capital expenditure and controlling personnel, seeking lower material costs, reducing expenses, and lowering prices to secure orders and overcome difficulties.

GCE reported that demand weakened after mid-October, with customer revenue in Q4 likely expanding to 10% under current conditions.

HannStar Board indicated that demand weakened after the end of October, with order reception times shortening from four weeks to three weeks. Legal analysts estimate Q4 performance will decline by about 10% compared to Q3.

Amid the global economic recession, notebook clients have reduced shipment rates, and higher mobile device inventories require active inventory adjustments. Q4 shipment conditions fell short of expectations. The outlook for Q1 2016 remains bleak, with PCB manufacturers expecting to bottom out in February, with capacity utilization possibly reaching 50%.