Selecting a Connector Vendor – Part 3: A Look at Market Sector Leaders

Bishop & Associates identifies the top 10 companies in world connector sales by geographic region, manufactured products, and markets served. The third article in this annual series focuses on the leading companies in each of the end-use equipment markets.

Selecting your connector company partner can be difficult and complicated. This is especially true with over 1,000 connector manufacturers globally to choose from. Some are independent, others are owned by larger connector companies, and increasingly others yet are divisions or businesses under large conglomerates. Being a connector buyer or purchasing agent is not an easy job. To make the best choice, be sure to ask the following questions.

• Which manufacturers offer the products and services we require? Which manufacturers can meet our delivery requirements with quality parts at a fair and equitable price?
• Which companies offer websites that are not only user friendly and easy to navigate, but also provide the necessary information to make an informed decision without having to visit multiple websites or make numerous phone calls?
• Which manufacturers have the technical expertise to help us qualify our needs, determine if an existing solution exists, and help us develop a new product if one does not exist?
• Should we go directly to the factory or contact a representative or distributor?
• What are my options? Is there a better solution already available? How can we be sure this is what we need? Can we get detailed drawings and specifications, possibly a sample?
• How long is it going to take to get what we need?
• Does this manufacturer have the appropriate and necessary certifications? Do they have sufficient production capacity to meet our needs in the future? Do we want to establish a long-term relationship with this company?

Obtaining the answers to these questions — plus many others — is often the first and one of the most important jobs of a buyer or purchasing agent. When fulfilling a requisition, often the best decision is to first determine which manufacturers can meet even the most basic needs.

With over 40 years of focusing primarily on the connector industry, Bishop believes the first step in determining which companies may meet your requirements is to examine the companies that achieve top 10 recognition in the industry, based on a variety of criteria. With this information the intention is to provide you with a benchmark for evaluating potential candidates. These criteria include:

• Top 10 in world sales.
• Top 10 in each geographic region.
• Top 10 by individual product type manufactured.
• Top 10 within each market served.

Bishop’s goal in this series is to provide you with the names of the top 10 companies in world sales, by geographic region, manufactured products, and markets served.

The source of this information is the 2025 Top 100 Connector Manufacturers research report, which provides readers with 2024 and 2023 sales results in an easy to read and understand format with detailed information on connector sales by region, product type, and market sector for the top 50 connector manufacturers and connector sales by region for the top 100. Visit Bishop & Associates to get further information on this report and to download a detailed table of contents.

Upon completion of this series of articles, you will see that 53 companies have received a top 10 ranking in either total world sales, and sales by region, product type, or market sector. For information beyond the top 100 connector manufacturers, Bishop has developed a website that provides printable and searchable profiles on over 750 connector companies; users may generate lists of connector companies by total world sales, product types manufactured, markets served, and country of origin. Visit The World’s Connector Companies to view the capabilities of this dynamic website.

The first article, part 1 of 4, identified the Top 10 in world sales. These companies ranked from one to 10 are TE Connectivity, Amphenol, Molex, Aptiv, Foxconn (FIT), Luxshare Precision, Yazaki, Rosenberger, BizLink, and JAE. The second article, part 2 of 4, identified the Top 10 by region, adding an additional 16 companies for a total of 26 companies that achieved a Top 10 ranking.

This article, part 3, identifies the Top 10 in each of the end-use equipment/market sectors.

Top 10 by Market Sector 2024

When market/equipment sector is the criteria for identifying Top 10 companies, an additional 12 companies, in addition to the 16 additional companies when identified by region, achieve Top 10 status. This makes a total of 38 companies acquiring a Top 10 position.

These additional 12 companies are Shenzhen Deren, ITT Cannon, KYOCERA AVX, IRISO, Hosiden, LEMO, ODU, Fujikura/DDK, Yamachi, AirBorn, Lear, and I-PEX.

The following table identifies Top 10 ranking, by market sector for each of the 38 companies. 

Connector Companies Achieving Top 10 Ranking by Market Sector

Important highlights from this table include:

• Amphenol and TE Connectivity ranked in the Top 10 in 10 of the 11 market sectors.
• Molex ranked in the Top 10 in nine of the 11 market sectors.
• Aptiv and Luxshare are ranked in the Top 10 in six of the 11 market sectors.
• Foxconn (FIT) and Samtec ranked in the Top 10 in five of the 11 market sectors.
• Five companies, Rosenberger, BizLink, JAE, Hirose, and Sumitomo, ranked in the Top 10 in four of the 11 market sectors.
• Three companies, JST, Korea Electric Terminal, and KYOCERA/AVX, ranked in the Top 10 in three of the 11 market sectors.
• This will be the last year that AirBorn, which ranked in the Top 10 in one of the 11 market sectors, will be noted, as they have been acquired by Molex.
• This will be the last year that CommScope, which ranked in the Top 10 in two of the 11 market sectors, will be noted, as they have been acquired by Amphenol.
• AirBorn and Qnnect made their first appearance in the Top 10 category by market sector.

Part 4 of this series, out December 2, will identify the Top 10 by product type.

All source data referenced in the above article is derived from Bishop & Associates Top 100 Connector Manufacturer’s report.

This content is available to subscribers of Connector Supplier through a special partnership with Bishop & Associates. No part of this article may be used without the permission of Bishop & Associates Inc. The Bishop Report publishes monthly updates about the performance of the connector industry and key industry topics.  Subscribe to the Bishop Report here. Contact us at [email protected] or 630.443.2702. 

Incorporated in 1985, Bishop & Associates, Inc. is a market research firm specializing in the connector and cable assembly industry. The firm publishes the monthly Bishop Report, a newsletter focusing on the connector industry, Industry News Briefs and Updates, The Connector Yearbook, as well as a variety of research reports covering the connector and cable assembly market, it’s products and its manufacturers. Visit Bishop & Associates to learn more or subscribe.

Like this article? Check out our other Facts and Figures, Industry News and Market Update articles, our Consumer Market Page, and our 2025 Article Archive. 

Subscribe to our weekly e-newsletters, follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook, and check out our eBook archives for more applicable, expert-informed connectivity content.