European EMS Market Grew to a Record Level of 57 Billion Euros in 2023, But May Experience Challenges in 2024

By Sanjay Huprikar, IPC president, Europe and South Asia Operations

Dieter G Weiss

As revealed by the annual survey conducted by in4ma and sponsored by IPC Electronics Europe GmbH, the European Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS) industry experienced a robust 12.4% growth last year with PCBA production by EMS companies achieving a record turnover of 57.1 billion Euros underscoring electronics manufacturing’s vital role in the European economy and industrial base.

Dieter Weiss, the Founder and President of in4ma, and lead architect of the survey, stated that 306 legal entities contributed data to this year’s survey, which represents a 50% expansion in participants in just three years.

Key industry takeaways from the extrapolations of survey data include:

• 81% of the EMS companies had higher revenues than the previous year.
• Employment in the EMS industry increased by 5.9% to just over 254,000 people.
• EMS production of PCBAs represents only 43% of the total market of European PCBA production in Europe, so long-term growth potential still exists.
• Market remains very top heavy: less than 4% of the total EMS companies in Europe represented over 70% of the turnover.
• Excessive raw materials on shelves were calculated to be 5.2 billion Euros.
• Market consolidation will continue in 2024 as witnessed by 12 M&A deals completed just in the first 2 months of the new year.
• Overall prognosis for 2024 is that the European EMS market could contract by up to 1%.

Mr. Weiss will share his findings at several live presentations over the next 3 months:

• · IPC APEX EXPO – Anaheim, California, USA – April 8
• · in4ma EMS & PCB Forum – Ulm, Germany – June 6
• · IPC UK EMS Executives Meeting – London, UK – June 13
• · IPC Europe EMS Executives Meeting – Gdansk, Poland – September 25

The full report can be purchased directly from in4ma for 690 Euros. Please contact Mr. Weiss at weiss@in4ma.de for additional information.

IPC fully champions the Pan European EMS industry by focusing on standards, education, advocacy, solutions, industry intelligence, and networking events. You can learn more about how to participate in these initiatives by contacting Philippe Leonard, Senior Director of IPC Europe, at philippeleonard@ipc.org.