“Geopolitical factors, along with the continued impacts of inflation and rising interest rates, have led manufacturers to describe the current economy as slow, uncertain, challenging, difficult, volatile, and unpredictable,” said Shawn DuBravac, IPC chief economist. “However, despite current conditions, the outlook for 2023 is relatively positive, with manufacturers expressing optimism and expecting growth, especially in the latter half of the year.”
The report, based on a survey of hundreds of companies from around the world, including a wide range of company sizes representing the full electronics manufacturing value chain, also found that labour costs and material costs are rising, but the number of companies experiencing rising costs continues to decline. Only 49% of companies believe material costs will rise in the coming months, the first time this has fallen below 50 percent. The ease of recruiting skilled workers has also improved to its highest level since the survey began.
The Orders Index slipped to 101. This is still in expansionary territory, but it is the lowest level seen since the start of the survey.
Orders are expected to decline more so for firms operating in North America versus those in Europe, who instead are more likely expecting orders to remain stable.
