As mainboards for 5G smartphones will surely be enlarged significantly to accommodate many more RF (radio frequency) modules, Taiwan-based PCB makers including Zhen Ding Technology, Unimicron and Compeq Manufacturing as well CCL supplier Elite Material are expected to gain revenue growth momentum from...

ABF substrates have seen robust demand for processing 5G networking chips and high-performance computing chips since the start of 2019, but shipments of BT substrates for mobile chips packaging have slipped significantly due to lackluster handset sales, according to industry sources.

The output value of Japan's PCB industry dropped 6.9% from a year earlier to JPY219.79 billion (US$2.06 billion) in the first half of 2019, with that of the flexible PCB sector experiencing the largest 28.7% on-year fall, according to data compiled by the Japan Electronics Packaging Circuits Association...

Semiconductor materials distributors Wahlee Industrial and Topco Scientific are both optimistic that strong demand for high-end engineering plastics, silicon wafers and photoresist will persist as advanced foundry processes will be increasingly needed to support growing 5G and AI applications, according...

Demand for high multilayer PCB products for the production of 400G switches for 5G networks in China is expected to emerge in 2020 when China Mobile starts switching its non-standalone (NSA) 5G networks to SA ones, according to industry sources.

Demand for GaN-based RF components and power amplifiers (PAs) is heading for long-term growth along with the establishment of 5G networks, according to industry sources.

HannStar Board has disclosed plans to invest about NT$1.5 billion (US$47.8 million) in its factory site in Taoyuan, northern Taiwan where the PCB manufacturer will build additional production lines dedicated to producing high-end products for servers, network communication, industrial PC and electric...

Apple is expected to launch its new iPhones soon, but it seems few would expect strong sales or major spec upgrades for the new phones. News from the supply chain has claimed that PCB order momentum ahead of the new iPhone launch has...

HDI PCB orders for automotive applications have picked up recently, and major makers Tripod Technology and Chin Poon Industrial are moving to increase their production ratio for such HDI boards with higher prices and gross margin to meet the growing demand in the 5G era, according to industry source...

GaAs foundry Win Semiconductors, and backend houses Xintec and ShunSin Technology have started ramping up shipments for structured light 3D sensing components in the third quarter of 2019, according to industry sources.

Orders for the iPhones slated for launch in September have thus far been weaker compared to the momentum in previous years, according to sources at PCB makers.

PCB maker Dynamic Electronics has decided to sell its factory site in northern Taiwan and shift all its production capacity there to the firm's Kunshan plant in China, according to a company statement.

Flexible PCB specialist Zhen Ding Technology (ZDT) saw its net profit for the second quarter of 2019 surge 77.62% on year to NT$1.785 billion (US$56.85 million) on revenues of NT$23.08 billion, up 11.46% from a year earlier.

PCB and IC substrate supplier Unimicron Technology has set aside a capex of approximately NT$16.2 billion (US$514.5 million) for 2020, up from NT$9.2 billion for 2019, to strengthen its deployment in high-end IC substrates for processing high performance computing (HPC) 5G and AI chips, according to...

Taiwan-based niche-type CCL maker Ventec International is expected to see revenues and profit for the third quarter of 2019 hit record highs on sharp increases in orders from makers of both optical display PCBs and aluminum base thermal conductive boards, according to industry sources.

PCB maker Apex International has reported record high revenues and profit for the second quarter of 2019, buoyed by an influx of new orders and effective production cost control.

PCB manufacturer Tripod Technology has seen short lead-time orders from customers ramp up recently, and expects the pull-in of orders to carry on until later in the third quarter when new tariffs imposed by the US government on imports from China take effect.

PCB firm Compeq Manufacturing has said its order visibility for the fourth quarter of 2019 remains unclear, although the pull-in of orders from clients still maintains a robust pace in the third quarter.

Diodes and Lite-On Semiconductor (LSC) have entered into an agreement that provides for the acquisition of the Taiwan-based discrete and analog chipmaker by the US vendor, according to the companies.

Intelligent Epitaxy Technology (IntelliEPI), which supplies compound semiconductor epi-wafers, expects a seasonal pick-up in orders for GaAs devices, InP and GaN products to drive the company's revenue growth in the second half of 2019, according to company president YC Kao.

Among Taiwan IC substrates makers, Unimicron and Na Ya PCB are expected to benefit the most from AMD release of its EPYC Rome 7002 server CPU adopting TSMC 7nm node and supporting PCIe 4.0 transmission specs, as they both have developed mature technology for producing high-performance ABF substrates...

As AMD has newly launched second-generation EPYC processors, dubbed Rome 7002 series, as the world's first 7nm x86 server CPUs that support PCIe 4.0, Taiwan-based CCL makers ITEQ and Elite Material (EMC) are poised to embrace new business opportunities arising from the new server transmission architecture...

The new tariffs set to be imposed by the US government on imports from China will encourage device vendors to request chip and component deliveries in advance, according to sources at Taiwan-based PCB makers, who expect their shipments to peak this year in the third quarter.

Samsung has just launched its Galaxy Note 10, with its suppy chain partners expecting the new smartphone series to prompt rivals to adopt similar specs for their offerings, including slim vapor chamber. The new Samsung Galaxy Note 10...

High-end CCL demand from Huawei has been rising due to a major redesign of its 5G base station infrastructure, prompting Taiwan CCL makers to upgrade their CCL specs to meet the demand, according to industry sources.