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Article: Trade show overcapacity: a review of the PCB industry's 'March madness'; two major PCB shows on two continents in three weeks. After attending CPCA Show and IPC Expo, can exhibitors and attendees keep up?(Industry Overview)
- Article from:
- CircuiTree
- Article date:
- May 1, 2003
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 BNP Media. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Although most PCB industry analysts differ when it comes to predicting the long-awaited recovery, there is uniform agreement as to what caused--or at least worsened--the downturn: overcapacity. In the crazy days of the late 1990s, when the telecomms market appeared to need an infinite amount of printed circuits, and companies like Cisco Systems talked of buying $2 billion worth of boards per year, the thought that there could be too much PCB capacity seemed absurd. Instead, the mantra of the day was "If we build it, they will come."
What a difference a few years make.
Today, our industry has experienced massive contraction, consolidation, and closures. ...