May 04, 2012 IPC – Association Connecting Electronics Industries® launched a survey today to measure the impact of a phenomenon known as “on-shoring” — the migration of manufacturing operations back to the Americas from overseas, in the electronics industry. On-Shoring in the Electronics Industry: Trends and Outlook will compile data to quantify on-shoring in terms of both location of operations and sourcing. Companies and suppliers in the electronics manufacturing industry in the Americas that wish to participate may do so until Friday, May 25 by visiting www.ipc.org/on-shoring.
After many years of steady migration of electronics manufacturing operations from North America to Asia, rumors of a counter movement, on-shoring, started gaining traction about four years ago. IPC put data behind the anecdotes with a “Fast Facts” survey, the results of which confirmed that some limited on-shoring was indeed taking place in North America.
Since then, the drivers of on-shoring — rising labor costs in China, hidden costs of overseas manufacturing and technology developers’ need to protect their intellectual property, to name a few — have been gaining momentum.
IPC’s new study looks at on-shoring from three perspectives: electronics manufacturing operations moving back to the Americas, new operations that companies choose to build in the Americas, and whether electronics companies are changing suppliers in order to source more materials from their home region.
IPC’s study is designed to: measure the changes that have taken place since 2008, identify where and in what product segments on-shoring is occurring, explain why on-shoring is occurring, quantify the impact on revenue and jobs in the Americas, and assess the current business environment as well as the future outlook of on-shoring.
The results of IPC’s On-Shoring in the Electronics Industry: Trends and Outlook survey will be published in June. Companies that participate in the survey will receive the complete report of the findings for free. The survey is open to both IPC members and nonmembers, and will be available until May 25, 2012 at www.ipc.org/on-shoring.
IPC (www.IPC.org) is a global trade association based in Bannockburn, Ill., dedicated to the competitive excellence and financial success of its 3,100 member companies which represent all facets of the electronics industry, including design, printed board manufacturing, electronics assembly and test. As a member-driven organization and leading source for industry standards, training, market research and public policy advocacy, IPC supports programs to meet the needs of an estimated $2.02 trillion global electronics industry. IPC maintains additional offices in Taos, N.M.; Arlington, Va.; Stockholm, Sweden; Moscow, Russia; Bangalore, India; and Shanghai, Shenzhen and Beijing, China.
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