Flexible Circuits Market Size, Share, Opportunities, And Trends By Type (Double Sided, Multi-Layer, Single Layer, Rigid Flex Circuit), By Application (Displays, Automotive Circuits, Medical Devices, Bar Code Equipment, Others), By End-User (Automotive, Electrical & Electronics, Manufacturing, Medical & Healthcare, Others), And By Geography - Forecasts From 2023 To 2028

Flexible circuits, also known as flex circuits or flexible printed circuits (FPCs), are printed circuit boards (PCBs) that are designed to be flexible, enabling them to be bent, twisted, or folded without breaking. The use of flexible circuits is becoming increasingly widespread in various industries, as they offer a range of benefits such as reduced size and weight, increased flexibility in design, and improved reliability and performance. Flexible circuits are used in a wide range of applications, including consumer electronics, automotive, medical devices, aerospace, and defence. The market growth of flexible circuits is driven by the growth in these industries.

The rise in vehicle manufacturing and sales is expected to boost the market growth of flexible circuits.

Flexible circuits are used in several applications in the automotive industry, such as sensors, lighting, infotainment systems, airbag systems, and powertrains. The growth of the flexible circuits market is closely related to the growing rate of vehicle manufacturing and sales. For instance, data from The International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers indicates that the global production of vehicles increased by 3% in 2021 as compared to 2020. As per the same source, global sales of all vehicles increased from 78,774,320 in 2020 to 82,684,788 in 2021. OICA data also indicates that the total number of vehicles produced in the United States of America was around 9167214 representing an increase of 4% in 2021 as compared to 2020. The National Automobile Dealers Association states that vehicle sales in the United States rose by 4.2% (15.4 million units) in 2023 as compared to 2022. According to VDA - German Association of the Automotive Industry, vehicle production in Germany was recorded at 2,27,400 units in 2022. The Federal Motor Transport Authority Germany stated that the number of new car registrations in the country rose to 3,14,318 units in 2022. Data from The International Trade Administration states that around 797,243 vehicles were produced in Italy in 2021 representing an increase of 2.6% as compared to 2020. Thus, it can be concluded that the rising rate of both production and sales of vehicles globally will drive the demand for flexible circuits proving to be beneficial for the growth of this market.

The Asia Pacific region is expected to witness the highest growth in the flexible circuits market.

The automotive industry in the Asia Pacific region is growing rapidly, and the increasing adoption of advanced electronic systems in vehicles is expected to further drive the demand for flexible circuits. For instance, data from OICA shows that there was a 3% increase in the production of commercial vehicles in China in 2021 and around a 24% increase in India in the same year. Similarly, the increasing adoption of electronic medical devices in the region is also driving the growth of the flexible circuit market and therefore, this market is expected to experience significant growth due to the growing medical and healthcare industry. For instance, data from OECD and OECD Stat shows that the government health expenditure as a share of GDP in Japan went up from 9.20% in 2019 to 9.28% in 2021. Similarly, this number has increased from 4.96 in 2019 to 5.68% in 2021 in South Korea, as per the same source. In 2020, health spending in Australia amounted to 10.2% of the gross domestic product (GDP), which is a 0.2% increase from the previous year, as stated by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. In addition, flexible circuits are widely used in the manufacturing industry, particularly in the production of consumer electronics and automotive applications. The growing manufacturing sector in this region proves to be beneficial for the growth of the flexible circuits market. For instance, in December 2022, manufacturing production in China grew by 0.20% compared to the same month in the previous year, as per the data released by the National Bureau of Statistics of China. According to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MOSPI), manufacturing production in India rose by 3.7% on a year-on-year basis in January 2023. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from the manufacturing sector in Japan rose to 117,790.10 billion Japanese Yen in 2021 from 108,093.80 billion Japanese Yen in 2020, as per the Cabinet Office of Japan. The rising electrical and electronic devices sector also contributes to the market growth of flexible circuits. For instance, data from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology states that India’s electronics manufacturing industry was valued at US$ 74.7 billion in 2020. According to the same source, India can achieve over US$ 300 billion in electronics manufacturing and exports by 2025. Similarly, data from Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry indicates that in 2020, the country produced around 29,362 million yen worth of consumer electronic equipment. Thus, the combination of such factors is driving the growth of the flexible circuit market in the Asia Pacific region.

Market Key Developments

• In September 2020, at the first virtual PCB West 2020 Exhibition, Minco Products, Inc., a worldwide supplier of thermal solutions, flex circuits, and temperature sensing and control solutions, exhibited their flex circuit capabilities and technological advancements.
• In November 2019, FlexIC Foundry was launched by PragmatIC that aimed to provide engineers with a highly customizable and adaptable design environment for integrated circuits. The state-of-the-art platform was specifically designed to enable third-party access to the technology, allowing them to create and produce their own flexible integrated circuits (FlexICs).
• In June 2019, OKI Electric Cable Co., Ltd., a company under the OKI Group that specialized in electric cables, introduced Stretchable Flexible Printed Circuits (Stretchable FPC). These circuits differed from traditional FPCs and they used an elastic substrate instead of polyimide, providing stretchability. The elastic substrate had rubber-like properties and could be repeatedly stretched, while also being heat-resistant.

Flexible Circuits Market Scope:

Segmentation

• By Type
  • Double Sided
  • Multi-Layer
  • Single Layer
  • Rigid Flex Circuit
• By Application
  • Displays
  • Automotive Circuits
  • Medical Devices
  • Bar Code Equipment
  • Others
• By End User
  • Automotive
  • Electrical & Electronics
  • Manufacturing
  • Medical & Healthcare
  • Others
• By Geography
  • North America
    • USA
    • Canada
    • Mexico
  • South America
    •  Brazil
    • Argentina
    • Others
  • Europe
    • Germany
    • UK
    • France
    • Spain
    • Others
  • Middle East and Africa
    • Suadi Arabia
    • UAE
    • Others
  • Asia Pacific
    • China
    • Japan
    • South Korea
    • India
    • Australia
    • Others