Facts & Figures: The Market for Circular Connectors

According to Bishop & Associates’ research, the fourth largest connector market will exhibit strong growth over the next five years.

The circular connector market is the fourth largest product market by share of the total worldwide connector market following PCB, application-specific, and rectangular I/O connectors. This share has been relatively stable over the last five years at approximately 7%, with a slight downward trend over the last two years. This market sector had a value of $3.6 billion in 2014.

Circular connectors are often thought of as military type products produced to military specifications. As needed in military, the circular shape is inherently more robust in the sealing department and the outer shells are often made of machined metal, so they are very rugged connectors. There are many commercial-grade variations, however, used in medical and industrial applications. Circular connectors also include the audio and microphone connectors.

The following table provides the total industry sales versus the circular connector sales for the last five years. The slight downward trend in market share is due to the decrease in military spending in North America and Europe over the last few years.

Circular Connector Market Share of the Total Connector Market

By region, the largest circular connector market is found in North America with a 31% share of market. Europe follows with a 25% share. The smallest region is ROW (Rest of World) with a 6% share of the industrial market.

Circular Connector Market Share of Total Connector Market
by Region of the World

The military market is the largest circular connector market sector with 33% of the sales. This is followed by transportation sales at 22% and industrial sales at 16%.

Circular Connector Share by Market Sector

The market for circular connectors is expected to have a five-year compound annual growth rate of 5.1%. The market will grow to a value of $4.8 billion in 2020.

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Dave Pheteplace

SVP and Managing Director Cable Assembly at Bishop & Associates Inc.

David Pheteplace joined Bishop & Associates Inc. in 2008, and was appointed vice president in September 2011. He is also the managing director of Bishop’s cable assembly division, which he established in 2008. Pheteplace has more than 30 years of experience in the interconnect industry, including managing divisions of Amphenol, Cinch, and Robinson Nugent.

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