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12 The PCB Magazine • December 2014 by Francesca Stern FranceSca Stern conSulting 2015 Outlook for the PCB Industry: A Global Perspective F e a t u r e The total value of global electronics produc- tion (excluding components) in 2013 was esti- mated at $1.5 trillion and the value of world- wide PCB production at $58 billion. In 2013 Asia (including Japan) accounted for 58% of worldwide electronics production, while Japan accounted for less than 5%, Europe (EU28) ac- counted for 15% and North America (USA and Canada) for 16.5% (Figure 1). Asia, however, ac- counts for around 90% of total PCB production worldwide, and China in particular with 44% global market share is therefore heavily depen- dent on the West for its export markets. In today's global economy, it is not realistic to produce an outlook for one region without consideration of the other ones, as any one re- gion may affect and/or be affected by the events and economies of the others. Western Europe has a mature PCB industry that focuses on small volumes and high value boards. The European PCB industry serves mainly the European mar- kets, but it also exports high-end product to Asia and North America. The key markets served by European fabricators as a whole are industrial, instrumentation and control, medical, military, aerospace, space, and automotive. Unless the PCB is required to be made domestically (e.g., if it's military or it has specific technology or reliability requirements), the fabricators come Figure 1: Worldwide electronics production in 2013: $1.5 trillion.