PCB capacity to be tighter in 4Q09

Taiwan-based PCB makers are seeing tight capacity mainly due to increasing demand for notebook and optoelectronics boards, and the situation is expected to become even more serious in the fourth quarter as most players currently have no substantial plans to expand capacity, according to sources at the companies.

Tripod Technology, Taiwan PCB Techvest (TPT), Dynamic Electronics, HannStar Board and Gold Circuit Electronics (GCE) have all indicated demand has exceeded their capacity. Tripod and TPT plan to expand some of their production lines to meet the influx of optoelectronics board orders.

HannStar Board has seen order visibility for notebook PCBs extend to November and utilization rate reach 95%. It expects the utilization to climb to 100% in the fourth quarter.

In addition to the notebook and panel markets, Chin-Poon Industrial’s utilization is also running full due to demand for PCBs used in consumer electronics, networking, and automotive products, while Advence Printed Circuit Board (APCB) is seeing strong orders for LED packaging boards.

By:Ingrid Lee, Taipei; Meiling Chen, DIGITIMES