And though materials costs continue to improve, labor costs remain a pain point. Three-fifths (58 percent) of electronics manufacturers say they are currently experiencing rising labor costs.
The New Order Index fell four points after rising five points in November 2023 and the Labor Costs Index fell two points to 128, the lowest level recorded for this metric.
The report found that electronics manufacturers expect to see continued increase in both labour and material costs over the next six months, while also anticipating a notable increase in both orders and shipments. Profit margins are expected to improve somewhat, while ease of recruitment and backlogs are likely to remain challenging.
“In the December survey, IPC asked industry executives what they believed would happen to printed circuit board (PCB) demand for domestically produced PCBs if prices were to decline by 25 percent,” said Shawn DuBravac, IPC chief economist. “On average, respondents predicted demand would rise by 16 percent. Notably, manufacturers in North America predicted demand would rise by 20 percent on average, higher than in both Europe and APAC.”
For the report, IPC surveyed hundreds of companies from around the world, including a wide range of company sizes representing the full electronics manufacturing value chain.
