Momentum is building as advocacy, investment and policy alignment push US electronics manufacturing into a new growth phase.

There was a time not very long ago when North American electronics manufacturing was in pure survival mode. PCB shops were shuttering. Assembly lines were moving overseas. Critical defense suppliers were hanging on by their fingernails. The story of the American electronics industry was becoming a story of contraction, not growth.

In EMS, today’s headlines often become tomorrow’s production schedule.

While it may seem as if there is little rhyme or reason for variations in demand, the reality is that the electronics manufacturing service (EMS) industry’s repeating cycles actually make trends fairly predictable. As I write this, a number of those trends are starting to emerge. By the time it publishes, these trends will be even more evident. Understanding them can be helpful in addressing the issues and exploiting the opportunities that are likely to result.

Hidden subcontracting in offshore PCB sourcing can expose OEMs and EMS providers to latent quality risks.

You’ve done your homework. You evaluated a new PCB supplier in China, negotiated a great piece price and placed your order. Weeks later, the boards arrive at your dock. They pass incoming inspection, hit the assembly line and everything seems fine.

Supply shortages, inflation and geopolitical tensions echo an era thought long past.

Over the past year or so, the world appears to be an episode of Back to the Future, with events eerily reminiscent of when I commenced my career in the 1970s. Some call the “good old days,” yet regardless of whether they were – and there’s some debate to that – they certainly appear to be back!