Article: North American PCB industry makes some moves.(Market Outlook)(Printed circuit boards)

TTM Technologies' CEO Kent Alder summed up the North American business climate (for non-niche players) in TTM's1Q'05 financial report: "Market demand was relatively stable in the first quarter of 2005, albeit with slightly greater than expected pricing pressure."

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

"Big news" has been more prevalent lately for our industry. Leading the way was Merix--first buying Data Circuits Systems and then spending over $120 million on Eastern Pacific Circuits. Merix is now a $350 million multinational PCB maker with five Asian plants (Chart 1).

[GRAPHIC OMITTED]

[GRAPHIC OMITTED]

Other recent "actions" include ...

Related newspaper, magazine, and journal articles:

 
 
Newsweek Harper's Magazine The Washington Post Chicago Tribune Crain's Chicago Business PRNewswire Pediatric News The Nation Advertising Age The Economist (US) A FREE trial gives you access to over 80 million articles! Access over 6,500 publications with a FREE trial!