IPC’s October 2023 Global Sentiment of the Electronics Supply Chain Report found no major trend shifts over the last month; the electronics industry sentiment was relatively unchanged from September. Product demand has held steady, with costs continuing to improve. For the report, the global industry association surveyed hundreds of companies from around the world, including a wide range of company sizes representing the full electronics manufacturing value chain. This month, it also asked survey recipients about their expectations regarding AI adoption in the industry.
“In this month’s survey, we asked a special question about the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in electronics manufacturing,” noted Shawn DuBravac IPC chief economist. “Survey respondents indicated that AI is expected to be most useful for predictive maintenance, inventory management, quality control, supply chain management, and office support/activities over the next three years. However, fewer respondents believed AI would be useful for product development, lights-out facilities and sustainability.”
Additional survey data showed:
- Over the next six months, electronics manufacturers expect to see continued, albeit relatively stable, increase in both labour and material costs.
- While profit margins are expected to improve, backlogs and ease of recruitment are likely to remain challenging
- Backlogs are expected to rise more so among firms primarily operating in APAC, North America, and globally when compared to firms in Europe
- 76% of companies in Europe are currently experiencing rising labour costs
