World Sales Top Ten: Selecting a Connector Vendor

Bishop & Associates identifies the top 10 companies in world connector sales by geographic region, manufactured products, and markets served. The first article in this annual series focuses on the leading companies by total world connector sales.

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 information necessary 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 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, you’ll have 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. We will publish these articles in succession, starting with total world connector sales.

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. For further information on this report and to download a detailed table of contents, please click on the link above.

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.

Top 10 in World Sales 2024 Top 10 Connector Manufacturers

Every year, Bishop & Associates takes a comprehensive look at the connector industry in all its complexity, evaluating the activities of more than 750 connector suppliers over both the past year and past decade to gain a broad perspective on the industry and determine the top companies.

The world’s top 100 connector manufacturers recorded shipments of $70.060 billion in 2024. This represented 81.0% of the worldwide connector market, down from 82.4% in 2023. The balance of the connector industry had shipments of $16.417 billion in 2024 and represented 19.0% of the total market. Note that due to acquisitions and mergers, as well as currency fluctuations, the top 100 and the top 50 connector manufacturers’ change yearly.

In 2024, the top 10 connector manufacturers accounted for 53.2% of total market share or $46.025 billion. This is up from 52.6% in 2023, when the top 10 accounted for $43.601 of the $81.854 billion. Four of the top 10 manufacturers were based in North America, two in Japan, two in the Asia Pacific region, one in China, and one in Europe.

The following table identifies the top 10 connector manufacturers as defined by global connector sales.

Top 10 Ranked By World Sales

The top 10 companies have changed dramatically over the past few decades. The following tables show how the largest connector companies have changed in ranking .

Top 10 Connector Manufacturers 1980 through 2024

The highlights of this table include:

• The percentage of total sales the top 10 connector manufacturers represent has changed significantly over the last 40+ years. Their share has grown from only 38% of total sales in 1980 to a high of 60.8% in 2020.
• Since 1980, TE Connectivity (recognized first as AMP, then Tyco Electronics, and now TE Connectivity) has held the number one position, and Amphenol or Molex have held the number two position, with Amphenol quickly closing the distance between them and TE Connectivity.
• Of the 10 companies listed in 1980, over half of them, AMP, DuPont (Berg), Augat, Winchester, Cinch, and Burndy, have all been acquired by other companies.
• In 1980, all the top 10 were North American. By 2000, only four of the companies were based in North America, four were Japan based, one was European, and one was based in Asia-Pacific. In 2024, four companies remained based in North American, the number of Japan-based companies had dropped to two, one remained European, while the number that were Asia-Pacific based increased to three, and China now was home to one top 10 company, Luxshare.

Future articles in this series will address:

• Top 10 by Region
• Top 10 by Market/Equipment Sector
• Top 10 by Product Type

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.

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