FPC will meet new growth momentum in 2023

The demand for mobile phones has gradually warmed up

Affected by global inflation and geopolitical conflicts, mobile phone shipments in 2022 are expected to decline by 8.1% year-on-year. With the control of overseas inflation, consumer confidence is expected to recover, and the demand for mobile phones is expected to gradually recover, with the shipment volume increasing by about 2.4% year-on-year in the past 23 years.

On the other hand, with the explosive growth of the folding equipment market, it will further drive the demand for FPC in the future. According to CINNO Research, the global shipments of folding screen mobile phones will reach 5.51 million in 2021, while the global shipments of folding screen mobile phones are expected to rise to 52 million in 2025. According to IHS, PCB cost increased by 14% to meet the folding demand.

The trend of "three modernizations" of automobiles will lead to a significant increase in FPC consumption

According to the prediction of Zhanxin PCB Industry Research Institute, the consumption of FPC per car varies from 40 to 100 pieces, and the demand for FPC by smart cars in the future can reach 5-8 times that of traditional cars.

On the one hand, the trend of replacing copper wire harness with power battery FPC is clear. Compared with copper wire harness, FPC has outstanding advantages in safety, lightweight, and layout due to its high integration, ultra-thin thickness, and ultra-flexibility.

In addition, FPC has regular shape and is suitable for large-scale mass production, and the process is also flexible.

At present, the mainstream domestic power battery manufacturers have applied FPC in batch in the battery pack link. On the other hand, the automotive electronics market continues to grow. According to Gartner data, the value of single car chips is expected to increase from $665 in 2021 to $931 in 2025, and reach $1441 in 2031. The increase in the value of single car chips also means that the amount of FPC is also expected to increase simultaneously.

Wearable market boosts FPC demand

According to IDC's prediction, the global wearable device market size will be US $578 million in 2021, and is expected to reach US $1.968 billion in 2026, with a CAGR of 27.77%.

Among them, ARVR equipment will grow the fastest. At present, ARVR equipment from ordinary models to medium-high end models uses 10 to 20 FPCs for a single machine. With the further iteration and upgrading of the product, the number of sensors increases, the performance and weight control is more strict, the circuit is more complex, and the amount of FPC will continue to increase.