The Voice of Global Electronics News
Bringing you closer to the global developments driving the electronics industry
Timely news about U.S. FCC Router requirements, a major expansion of European industry data, a closer look at what’s ahead for AI and advanced packaging, and a workforce story out of India that’s worth your time. Here’s what we’re watching this week:
Top News in Electronics…
The Global Electronics Association has assumed responsibility for in4ma’s European EMS and PCB statistical programs, and its latest survey covering 397 companies shows a 2.9% revenue decline across European EMS, with automotive-heavy markets hit hardest while Eastern and Northern Europe proved more resilient.
AI, advanced packaging, and workforce readiness are converging as the forces that will define the next decade of electronics manufacturing, and industry leaders say the companies that pull ahead will be the ones that can align all three rather than betting on any single breakthrough.
Women are outpacing men in employability rates within India’s electronics manufacturing sector, with 54% of women entering the workforce possessing the skills employers seek, driven by strong training program completion rates and performance indicators that are pushing companies to rethink how they build and sustain inclusive talent pipelines.
A New Era for Europe’s EMS Data as Global Electronics Association Expands Research
The Global Electronics Association has released the Annual Survey of the European EMS Industry 2026 while assuming responsibility for in4ma’s European EMS and PCB statistical programs, marking a significant expansion of its global research capabilities.
The 2025 survey, covering 397 companies representing nearly 31% of European EMS production, reports a 2.9% revenue decline and a 3.9% reduction in headcount (3,445 jobs). Automotive-heavy markets such as Austria, France, and Germany saw the steepest drops, while Eastern and Northern Europe proved more resilient.
Segment trends show early recovery in industrial electronics, flat automotive demand, moderate gains in building-related electronics, and rising aerospace and defense activity, though some demand remains in-house at OEMs. Despite lower revenues, profitability stabilized for many firms.
Growth in 2026 is expected to be modest and to lag Asia’s expansion.
The Association will continue the in4ma programs with Dieter G. Weiss as advisor, maintaining methodological rigor while expanding global industry intelligence. Read more.
AI, Advanced Packaging, and the Talent Equation: What Members See Ahead
What will define the next decade of electronics manufacturing? Industry leaders point not to a single breakthrough, but to the convergence of AI-driven design, advanced packaging, and a workforce under pressure to evolve.
AI is already reshaping design and decision-making, improving everything from materials compliance to supply chain resilience. At the same time, technologies like chiplets and 3D integration are driving performance and efficiency gains across sectors from computing to aerospace. Additive manufacturing is also opening new possibilities in PCB design and production speed.
Across the board, one constraint stands out: talent. The industry’s ability to integrate AI, advanced technologies, and cross-disciplinary expertise will ultimately determine who leads. The future belongs to companies that can align innovation with workforce readiness.
Building a Safer, Smarter Workforce: New Member Courses Now Available
The Global Electronics Association has expanded its complimentary training offerings for members, adding new courses in Chemical Safety, Ergonomics, and Safety Data Sheets. The additions build on the Association’s core training library, which also includes modules on Electrostatic Discharge (ESD), Foreign Object Debris (FOD), Component Identification, and General Safety.
Designed to deliver foundational skills in approximately 45 minutes, the courses help companies quickly onboard employees and reinforce best practices across production environments. The training supports consistent knowledge across teams, improving safety, quality, and operational efficiency on the manufacturing floor.
Available at no cost to all member companies, the program is part of the Association’s broader effort to strengthen workforce readiness across the electronics industry.
What’s Moving Markets (and Orbit): Three Must-Reads
Each week, members of the Global Electronics Association’s leadership team share three must-reads shaping the global electronics landscape. This edition comes from Chief Communications Officer Carrie Sessine, who highlights key shifts in trade, sustainability, and innovation.
New analysis from McKinsey shows global trade is being redrawn, with electronics, especially semiconductors and data-center equipment, driving a significant share of growth. As supply chains shift from China toward ASEAN and India, the message is clear: companies need both long-term strategy and agility.
Sustainability compliance is expanding rapidly across Asia. Countries including China, Vietnam, South Korea, and Taiwan are introducing lifecycle regulations spanning design, repair, recycling, and disclosure, raising the stakes for globally active firms.
Manufacturing is pushing into orbit. A new venture aims to build space-based production infrastructure, pointing to how electronics innovation may extend into the emerging commercial space economy.
Can We Reshape PCB Quality? Perhaps with Automated Micro-Sectioning
At APEX EXPO 2026, a key conversation focused on a fundamental question: how effectively the electronics industry measures PCB quality, and how much insight those measurements truly deliver.
In a technical session, Geoffrey Leeds of SCAN Laboratories highlighted a shift from manual micro-sectioning toward automated, data-driven metrology. Long a cornerstone of PCB validation, traditional micro-sectioning relies on labor-intensive grinding, polishing, and interpretation, introducing variability and delays that can stretch into weeks.
Automated workflows aim to change that. By standardizing preparation, imaging, and reporting, while maintaining expert oversight, new systems can generate results in near real time, accelerating feedback loops between defect detection and corrective action. Integration with existing IPC test coupons also enables adoption without major process changes.
The approach incorporates “correlated metrology” and 3D reconstruction, linking measurements across inspection methods and enabling deeper analysis of complex structures.
As PCB designs grow more advanced, the takeaway is clear: measurement is evolving from a bottleneck into a strategic source of manufacturing intelligence.
Electronics Manufacturing in India Sees Rise in Female Employability
India’s electronics manufacturing workforce is shifting: women are now outpacing men in employability rates. According to data from staffing firm TeamLease and India’s National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) portal 54 % of women entering the electronics manufacturing workforce possess the skills and qualifications employers seek, surpassing the 51.5 % employability rate among men.
This trend is driven by higher enrollment and completion rates in apprenticeship and training programs, along with strong performance indicators such as dexterity, consistency, and process discipline, attributes that employers report are linked to lower absenteeism and attrition.
Regional variations are significant: in parts of South India’s electronics hubs, where enclosed campus models offer safe accommodation, transport, and amenities, female participation in shopfloor roles is especially high, reaching near-universal levels in some smartphone assembly operations. In contrast, participation remains substantially lower in regions without such supportive infrastructure.
Despite these gains, challenges persist. Safety concerns, limited childcare support, and caregiving responsibilities contribute to a notable drop-off in women's workforce participation after entering the workforce. Policy responses, including the establishment of women’s hostels and enhanced safety protocols, are beginning to address these barriers.
For the electronics industry in India, this emerging talent dynamic highlights both the value of inclusive workforce development and the importance of infrastructure and workplace policies that support sustained female participation across all stages of employment. Read more in The Economic Times.
New Board Leadership Positions Global Electronics Association for Next Phase of Growth
The Global Electronics Association announced new board leadership and members during its 69th Annual Meeting, held alongside APEX EXPO 2026. The updated board reflects broad expertise across the electronics ecosystem, reinforcing the Association’s focus on innovation and supply chain resilience.
New board members include:
Ben Gliklich, Element Solutions
Lynn Torrel, Arrow Electronics
Gao Lan, Lenovo
Student board member, Aubrey Smith, University of Georgia.
New officers are:
Peter Cleveland, TSMC, as Board Chair
Paul Baldassari, Flex, as Vice-Chair
Greg Maxwell, Northrop Grumman Mission Systems, as Secretary and Treasurer.
Association president and CEO John W. Mitchell emphasized the board’s role in aligning the Association with rapid industry change, while Cleveland highlighted the importance of collaboration across the global supply chain.
The Association also recognized outgoing board members for their longstanding service and contributions to the industry.
From PCBs to Power Systems: How AI Demand Is Pushing the Electronics Industry Up the Value Chain and Reshaping Everything From Taiwan's Fab Capacity to the Role of EMS Providers
Conflict and Consequence: What the Escalating Middle East Crisis Means for Global Electronics Manufacturing and the Supply Chains That Keep It Running
Before the Knowledge Walks Out the Door: How the Global Electronics Association’s Emerging Engineer Program Is Closing the Industry’s Skills Gap One Mentor at a Time
LinkedIn Highlights
A new report from Shawn DuBravac and Kevin O’Hanlon examines what the FCC’s decision to add all foreign-produced consumer routers to its Covered List means for an industry where virtually no consumer routers are manufactured domestically and building that capacity would take years.
Hemant Shah and Terry Hoffman stopped by at APEX EXPO to talk about the IPC 2581 Consortium Adoption Summit and why adoption of the industry’s preferred data transfer format for printed board assembly is picking up fast. The short version: Gerber-based packages force manufacturers to reverse-engineer intelligent design data, while IPC-2581 keeps the digital twin intact in a single file.
Scope 3 emissions are among the hardest for electronics manufacturers to measure accurately, and a new guidance document from the Global Electronics Association and the Responsible Business Alliance lays out practical approaches to improving data quality and advancing supplier engagement. A live webinar on April 15 walks through how to put it into practice.
Liliana Petrova, CCXP, brought a straightforward message to the EMS Leadership Summit: trust is the product. Her session on building customer confidence across complex value chains got practical fast, including whether companies are actually asking customers what they need or just presenting what they already know.
Events and Workshops
April 7 - 10, 2026: Touch Taiwan 2025 Series of Exhibitions
April 24, 2026: Advancing Sustainable and Circular Electronics
May 5 - 7, 2026: Electrical Wire Processing Technology Expo
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