Connector Industry Performance: 2012 Results

By Ron Bishop | May 02, 2013

2012 Results

The connector industry ended the year with world sales of $47.05 billion, a year-over-year decrease of -2.7%. The industry lost $1.3 billion in value. This was mild compared to the 2001 downturn when connector sales declined -18.9%, which translated to $6.5 billion less connector sales than in year 2000. The industry experienced still another downturn in 2002 when sales declined -7.6%, another $2.1 billion drop, marking a second consecutive year of sales declines.

However, the mother of all downturns was in 2009 when connector sales dropped -22.0% shrinking the industry by $9.9 billion.

The two previous downturns make 2012 very mild in comparison.

The following table depicts the quarterly results for the year.

Connector Industry Quarterly Sales

2012 Connector Sales by Quarter

The following table shows the regional results for 2012.

Connector Industry Regional Sales

2012 Connector Sales by Region

We will publish the final market sector results for 2012 in the February 2013 Bishop Report.

2013 Forecast

We believe the 2012 downturn is now over because we have had three consecutive months of year-over-year increases in orders and sales. Also, China is now beginning to again achieve growth in connector orders and sales.

However, the 2013 growth will probably be modest. We project 2013 to grow 4.2% to $49.02 billion, with each quarter seeing modest sequential increases.

The following tables show the projected quarterly sales for 2013.

Connector Industry Quarterly Sales

This forecast assumes the following:

The European economies begin to stabilize and modest growth is achieved in GDP. Europe is now a significant headwind. GDP needs to improve modestly for growth in electronic demand.
The United States avoids a political stalemate on the budget. If drastic cuts are implemented in 2013, US GDP will decline, causing a significant downturn in electronics demand. We believe the budget cuts will be modest and measured over a period of years. Assuming that happens, the US will see improved GDP growth in 2013.

China has been the growth engine for electronics. It is hard to imagine a successful 2013 in sales growth without China’s economy picking up steam. That can only happen with a stabilized Europe and growth in US GDP.

There are a lot of headwinds. We believe our forecast for connector growth of 4.2% is achievable, but currently we do not see much to suggest better growth.

New Connector Industry Forecast Report

Bishop’s “Connector Industry Forecast” report is available now. This eight-chapter report provides an in-depth, detailed forecast of the worldwide connector industry. In addition to the detailed forecasts for each region of the world (North America, Europe, Japan, China, Asia Pacific, and ROW), an industry overview is included that provides current market trends, industry book-to-bill ratios, and outlook narrative. For more information on this report click here.

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Ron Bishop

President at Bishop & Associates Inc.

Ronald E. Bishop founded Bishop & Associates Inc., a market research firm that specializes in the world electronic connector industry, in 1985. The firm publishes “The Bishop Report,” a monthly research newsletter and connectorsupplier.com, a twice-monthly electronic publication. A staff of 20 researchers produces reports centered on geographic regions, end-use equipment markets, connector products, and interconnect technologies. The firm also provides executive placement services, conducts multi-client studies and customer surveys, and assists in merger-and-acquisition activity. The US headquarters is located in St. Charles, Ill., a suburb of Chicago. The firm also has offices in Brussels, Belgium; Sidney, Australia; and Hong Kong.