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92 PCB007 MAGAZINE I MARCH 2019 Article by Hu Yang ZHONGTAI SECURITIES Editor's Note: The PCB007 China Team in- vited Mr. Hu Yang from Zhongtai Securities to interpret the 2018 HKPCA & IPC Show from the perspective of a security professional, and to analyze the current industry situation and prospects. PCB007 is proud to reprint this article for our global readership. As one of the largest PCB and electronic as- sembly exhibitions in the world, the HKPCA & IPC Show covers the PCB and electronic assembly supply chain in all categories and provides one-stop services in exhibiting the equipment and technology needed in the in - dustrial chain. As an industry observer, I visited the exhi- bition during the three days and conducted a complete study tour. On the first and second days, I heard many senior experts from vari- ous industries share their opinions on the mar- ket, technologies, and trends regarding PCBs. At the same time, over 500 exhibitors at home and abroad shared their thoughts over the three days. The topics covered the complete ecology of raw materials; manufacturing, processing, and assembling; finished products testing; and environmental protection treatment. From those beneficial opinions, you can get a glimpse of the current full-swing develop- ment trend of the industry. In recent years, the efficiency of PCB production lines has continu- ously improved, and the most important input- output ratio (annual income/equipment input) of investment has increased, which greatly benefits from the improvement of equipment performance and production technology. My review includes six questions and answers about the industry based on my time at the HKPCA & IPC Show. 1. What is the market size and what are the features of each of the sectors of the PCB industry in 2018? The global PCB industry maintained a strong momentum of growth in 2018, benefiting from the demand for mining machines, data centers, 5G, IoT, and new consumer electronics prod- ucts. At the exhibition, Prismark and other or- ganizations forecasted that global PCB output would reach $63.8 billion in 2018, which is an increase of 8% compared with 2017. This is a An Overview of the PCB Industry: 2018 HKPCA & IPC Show