According to the latest statistics released by the Japan Electronics Packaging Circuits Association (JPCA), the production volume of printed circuit boards (PCBs) in Japan, including rigid PCBs, flexible PCBs, and module substrates, in May 2023 decreased by 8.6% from the same period last year to 775,000 square meters and has been declining for 16th consecutive months. The production value dropped sharply by 17.3% to JPY 45.519 billion, which has been declining for 7 consecutive months and the third consecutive month of double-digit (more than 10 percent) decline.

In terms of category, the production volume of printed circuit boards (PCBs) in Japan for May 2023 showed a decline in rigid PCBs, with production volume dropped by 10.8% to 614,000 square meters, marking the 15th consecutive month of decline, while the production value for rigid PCBs decreased by 19.8% to JPY 26.914 billion, which has been declining for the 9th consecutive month;The production volume of flexible PCBs dropped by 20.7% to 116,000 square meters, marking the second increase in three months, while the production value for flexible PCBs decreased by 10.6% to JPY 1.689 billion, which has been declining for the 7th consecutive month;The production volume of module substrates dropped sharply by 28.5% to 46,000 square meters, marking the 12th consecutive month of decline, while the production value for module substrates decreased by 13.8% to JPY16.916 billion, which is the second time of decline in three months.

From January to May 2023,the production volume of PCBs in Japan decreased by 13.2% from the same period last year to 4.105 million square meters, and the production value decreased by 14.9% to JPY 240.594 billion.Among them, the production volume of rigid PCBs decreased by 12.2% to 3.359 million square meters, and the production value decreased by 19.3% to JPY 145.212 billion;The production volume of flexible PCBs decreased by 5.4% to 542,000 square meters, and the production value decreased by 10.6% to JPY 10.621 billion; The production volume of module substrates dropped sharply by 37.8% to 204,000 square meters, while the production value decreased by 6.7% to JPY 84.761 billion.