The European electronics manufacturing services (EMS) industry experienced 11 percent growth last year, according to an annual survey conducted by in4ma and sponsored by IPC Electronics Europe GmbH. The Printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) production by EMS companies achieved record revenues of EUR 57.3 billion in 2023 – a figure which IPC says underscores electronics manufacturing’s vital role in the European economy and industrial base.
Dieter Weiss, founder and president of in4ma, and lead architect of the survey, stated that 306 legal entities contributed data to this year’s survey, which represented a 50 percent expansion in participants in just three years.
Key year-over-year industry takeaways from the survey data included:
- Eighty-one percent 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 percent.
- EMS production of PCBAs represented only 43 percent of the total market of European PCBA production in Europe, so long-term growth potential still exists.
- The market remained very top heavy: Less than four percent of the total EMS companies in Europe represented over 70 percent of revenue.
- Excessive raw materials in inventory were calculated to be 5.2 billion Euros.
- Market consolidation will continue in 2024 as witnessed by 12 merger and acquisition (M&A) deals completed just in the first two months of the new year.
Challenges in 2024?
Despite the positive results for 2023, the survey showed that the overall prognosis for 2024 is that the European EMS market could contract by up to one percent.
Weiss will share his findings at several live presentations over the next six months including at the IPC APEX EXPO in Anaheim on 8 April.
