
Even with tariffs, China is still the better PCB option
Getting high-mix, low-to-medium volume production of higher technology PCBs outside of China quoted in a timely manner, let alone shipped in a reasonable amount of time, is easier said than done.
More importantly, even at an Ex-Works price—the cost before tariff is applied—pricing will be 10-20% higher than China.
And as more work is moved into countries that don’t have the manufacturing capacity that China has, pricing and lead times will increase.
PCB buyers need to consider total cost of ownership even in the midst of geopolitical concerns.
The PCB represents 8-12% of the costed bill of materials (BOM). Even at a 50% tariff on that portion of the BOM, companies may need to make the hard choice to get their product now at a seemingly higher price.
The alternative is to wait weeks more to receive product that may turn out not to be much different in cost.
Agree or disagree? Let me know!