Demand imbalances and supply chain problems from the pandemic a year ago still placed strain on the connection business. As 2024 approaches, these variables have gotten better, but additional uncertainties and emerging technological developments are reshaping the environment. What’s to come in the next few months is as follows.
The connection sector has a number of opportunities and difficulties as we start a new year. The supply chain is under pressure from worldwide wars in terms of material availability and available shipping channels. Manufacturing is nevertheless impacted by a labor shortage, particularly in North America and Europe.
But there is a lot of demand in a lot of markets. New opportunities are being created by the deployment of sustainable energy infrastructure and 5G. New facilities related to chip production will soon be operational. Innovation in the interconnect industry is being propelled by the ongoing development of new technologies, and as a result, new connector solutions are opening up new avenues for electronic design achievement.
Five Trends Impacting Connectors in 2024
The primary consideration for connector design and specification across all industries. Component designers have been instrumental in enabling product design to achieve remarkable performance improvements and size reductions in high-speed interconnects. Every product category is changing due to the increasing use of portable, linked gadgets, which is also gradually altering our way of life. This trend of shrinking is not limited to smaller electronics; larger items like cars, spacecraft, and aircraft are also benefiting from it. Not only may smaller, lighter parts cut burdens, but they also open up the option of traveling farther and quicker.
Customization
While thousands of standardized, amazingly versatile COTS components have emerged as a result of the long development times and high costs associated with custom components, new technologies like digital modeling, 3D printing, and rapid prototyping have made it possible for designers to produce flawlessly designed, one-of-a-kind parts more quickly and affordably.
By replacing conventional IC design with innovative techniques that combine chips, electrical, and mechanical components into a single-packed device, advanced packaging enables designers to push the boundaries of Moore’s Law. Significant performance advantages are being realized via 3D ICs, multi-chip modules, system-in-packages (SIPs), and other innovative packaging designs.
New Materials
Materials science includes tackling industry-wide problems and market-specific demands, such as the need for goods that are safer for the environment and people’s health, as well as requirements for biocompatibility and sterilization, durability, and weight reduction.
Artificial Intelligence
The introduction of generative AI models in 2023 caused a stir in the field of AI technology. By 2024, technology will be used in component design to evaluate systems and designs, investigate novel formats, and maximize performance and efficiency. The connection sector will be under increased pressure to develop new, more durable solutions as a result of the tremendous demand for high-speed performance required to support these services.
Mixed feelings about the 2024 forecast
Making predictions is never easy, particularly when there is a lot of financial and geopolitical uncertainty. In this context, forecasting future business conditions is nearly impossible. Following the pandemic, labor shortages continue, GDP growth is declining in all global economies, and economic markets are still unstable.Even if the global supply chain problems have significantly improved as a result of increasing shipping and trucking capacity, there are still certain challenges brought on by challenging problems including labor shortages and international conflict.
Nevertheless, it seems that the world economy outperformed most forecasters in 2023, paving the way for a robust 2024. In 2024, Bishop & Associates anticipates that the Connector will grow favorably. The connection industry has generally experienced growth in the mid-to low-single-digit range, with demand often increasing following a year of contraction.
Report Survey
Asian businesses express a gloomy future. Although there was a spike in activity towards the end of the year, which could indicate an improvement in 2024, global connection sales were virtually flat in 2023. November 2023 saw an 8.5% increase in bookings, an industry backlog of 13.4 weeks, and an order-to-shipment ratio of 1.00 in November as opposed to 0.98 for the year. Transportation is the market segment with the highest growth, at 17.2 percent year over year; automotive is next at 14.6 percent, and industrial is at 8.5 percent. China experienced the fastest year-over-year growth in orders among the six areas. Nevertheless, year-to-date results are still poor in every region.
A comprehensive analysis of the connection industry’s performance during the course of the pandemic recovery period is given in Bishop’s connection Industry projection 2023–2028 study, which includes a full report for 2022, a preliminary evaluation for 2023, and a detailed projection for 2024 through 2028. A thorough understanding of the electronics sector can be gained by examining connector sales by market, geography, and product category.
Observations show that
1. With a predicted growth rate of 2.5 percent, Europe is expected to rise to first place in 2023 but as the fourth greatest percentage growth in 2022 out of the six areas.
2. Electronic connector sales differ per market segment. The telecom/datacom sector is expected to grow at the fastest rate in 2022—9.4%—due to rising internet usage and ongoing efforts to implement 5G. The telecom/datacom sector will expand at the fastest rate of 0.8% in 2023, however, it will not grow as much as it did in 2022.
3. The military aerospace industry is expected to rise by 0.6% in 2023, closely trailing the telecom datacom sector. Since 2019, the military and aerospace sectors have remained dominant in important markets including the automotive and industrial sectors. Regrettably, however, the current world unrest has brought attention to military and aerospace spending.
4. In 2013, the Asian markets—Japan, China, and Asia-Pacific—accounted for 51.7% of worldwide connection sales, with North America and Europe accounting for 42.7% of overall sales. The global connection sales in fiscal year 2023 are expected to be accounted for by North America and Europe at 45%, up 2.3 percentage points from 2013, and the Asian market at 50.1%, down 1.6 percentage points from 2013. It is anticipated that the connection market in Asia will represent 1.6 percentage points of the global market.
Connector Outlook to 2024
There are countless opportunities ahead in this new year, and the terrain of the future is yet unknown. But one thing is for certain: electronics will always be a major factor in progressing humanity. It is impossible to overestimate the significance of interconnection as a new force.
Interconnectivity will become an essential component of the digital era and offer vital support for a wide range of creative applications as technology develops. Interconnectivity is going to be essential for the development of artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, and the proliferation of smart gadgets. We have good cause to think that connected technology and electronic devices will keep writing a fantastic new chapter together in the coming year.
Post time: Feb-19-2024