PCB sector’s output value expected to hit record high By Angelica Oung / Staff reporter The output value of Taiwan’s printed circuit board (PCB) industry is expected to reach a record high this year, despite the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Taiwan Printed Circuit Association (TPCA) said yesterday. The PCB industry had “no reason to be optimistic about 2020 at the beginning of the year,” the association said in a report. “But fortunately, the 5G early-stage infrastructure and carrier applications filled the gap caused by the pandemic in a timely manner, further promoting PCB price and value.” Predicting that the industry’s factory utilization rate in the fourth quarter would stay “at a high level,” the association said it expects this year’s annual output value of the industry would reach NT$678.5 billion (US$23.85 billion), which would be a “new high,” the report said.