BANNOCKBURN, IL – Worldwide production of printed circuit boards experienced real growth of 2.4% in 2011, a new market report says.

The PCB market grew in most regions, but the Americas plunged 11.3%, IPC said. PCB production, measured in terms of revenue, grew 1.3% in Europe and 3.6% in Asia, says IPC.

The world's approximately 2,600 PCB fabricators produced an estimated value of $59.1 billion in PCBs in 2011, IPC said.

Asia now accounts for 89% of world PCB production. The fastest-growing product categories in 2011 were metal core PCBs (which are used in LEDs, among other products), high-performance rigid PCBs and IC substrates. Rigid-flex and CEM-3 production declined in 2011.