Despite Growing Economic Uncertainties, the Electronics Manufacturing Industry Remains Upbeat

Per IPC’s March 2023 Global Sentiment of the Electronics Supply Chain Report, the last month delivered another month of stable industry sentiment: industry demand appears to remain intact, production holds steady and some labor challenges may be receding. Though overall sentiment is upbeat, roughly 58 percent of sentiment survey respondents expect to raise prices in 2023 with an average of an 8 percent increase.

Among other data, survey results show:

• Labor costs, orders, customer inventory, backlogs, and ease of recruitment is expected to remain relatively stable.
• Backlogs are rising more so in North America when compared to both Europe and APAC.
  • Nearly two-fifths (38 percent) of firms in North America indicate backlogs are on the rise, while a significantly lower 8 percent of European firms and 14 percent of those in APAC are experiencing a current increase.
• Material costs are declining at a faster pace among manufacturers in Europe vs. those in North America.
  • While 11 percent of firms in Europe indicate material costs are currently declining, 0 percent of firms in North America are presently reporting a decrease.
• The majority of manufacturers indicate less than 10 percent of 2022 revenue growth was attributable to pricing impacts, which holds true for manufactures in North America, 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. View full report.