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24 PCB007 MAGAZINE I OCTOBER 2019 PCBs have been manufactured more or less the same way since we entered the industry in 1972, but the circumstances surrounding the boards have changed. The PCB Norsemen have addressed the copper situation several times in our columns as well as the component crisis affecting the PCB industry. Now, we're experiencing external factors—such as Brexit and the trade restrictions between China and the U.S.—that are affecting the industry and causing delays due to raw material demand and prioritization by huge market players. The PCB market in China is experiencing a slower growth pace since the beginning of the year. Many factors have affected it, including the U.S.-China trade war and its increased tariff and the expectation of a big ramp-up from the The Laminate Market: What Will the Future Bring? automotive or electric vehicle (EV) industry, which did not happen this year. Take a Step Back and Look at the Figures We read and hear about factories moving out of China in view of the China and U.S. trade war. There had been some increase in capacity in neighboring countries in Southeast Asia. How- ever, in the next 3–5 years, China will prob- ably continue to be the largest PCB manufac- turing country, as the overall network of the supply chain for the PCB ecosystem that has been built and improved over the last decades will not be gone overnight. Let's move back one step and take a look at the PCB laminate supplies. There had been significant growth in the global laminate value The PCB Norsemen Feature Column by Raymond Goh, ELMATICA