Japan's PCB production has shrunk for the first time in 11 months, and 15% for soft boards.

According to statistics released by the Japan Electronics Packaging Circuits Association (JPCA) on the 15th, the output of printed circuit boards (PCB; hardboard + softboard + modular substrates) in August 2018 fell 0.1% to 1.146 million square meters from the same month last year, falling for the second time in three months; the output fell 2.2%. To 38 billion 563 million yen, the first decline in 11 months.

In terms of category, Rigid PCB production grew by 3.7% to 824,000 square meters in August, the second consecutive month from the same month last year, and by 6.2% to 25.845 billion yen, the 11th consecutive month.

Flexible PCB production declined by 9.2% to 245,000 square meters for the fifteenth consecutive month and by 15.4% to 3.965 billion yen, the seventh decline in eight months.

Module Substrates production declined by 6.6% to 77,000 square meters for the second consecutive month and by 15.8% to 8753 million yen, the first decline in 14 months.

Japan's PCB output fell 0.5% to 9612,000 square meters in the period from January to August 2018, a 3.5% increase to 316,194 million yen. Between January and August, the output of hard boards grew by 2.2% to 6.857 million square meters, by 4.8% to 209.641 billion yen, the output of soft boards dropped by 9.1% to 2.185 million square meters, by 7.9% to 33.853 billion yen, and the output of module substrates grew by 5.5% to 5.77 million square meters, and by 5.7% to 727 billion yen.

Japan's major PCB suppliers are Ibiden, CMK, Nippon Mektron, Fujikura, Shinko and Meiko.