With the gradual popularization of 4G networks and the development of the consumer electronics industry, the demand for network products in the communications field has promoted the research and development and production of connector products. As an indispensable electronic component in electronic equipment, connectors mainly serve to bridge the connection between circuits that are blocked or encourage different circuits to communicate. They are widely used in consumer electronics, automobiles, data communications, industry, medical care, aerospace and military fields.

Global Connector Development Status

In 2015, the global overall connector market sales reached US$52 billion, and grew to US$62.1 billion in 2017. It is expected that the market size will further grow to more than US$70 billion in 2018, and the overall trend is steady growth.

From a regional perspective, the Asia-Pacific region is the largest connector market, accounting for 56% of the global market in 2016. With the transfer of factories and production activities from North America and Europe to the Asia-Pacific region, and the rise of consumer electronics, mobile devices and automobiles in the Asia-Pacific region, future demand will continue to grow steadily.

In the Asia-Pacific region, China is the largest connector market and the strongest driving force of the global connector market, with a scale of US$16.5 billion in 2016. Although my country's connector industry started late, the connector market concentration is low, and the industry's technical level is still a certain distance away from that of advanced countries, my country's connector industry has broad space and huge development potential, and there is a lot of room for improvement in the future.

Data source: Compiled by China Business Industry Research Institute

From the perspective of market distribution, according to statistics, the main connector markets in 2017 were in the fields of automobiles (22%), telecommunications and data communications (21%), computers and peripherals (16%), industry (12%), transportation (6%), military and aerospace (6%), and consumer electronics (5%).

Among them, the automotive, telecommunications and aerospace fields require industrial-grade or even military-grade technology and technical processes, which belong to professional markets, and the overall output value accounts for a relatively high proportion. Therefore, manufacturers are mainly concentrated in developed countries such as the United States and Japan, such as Tyco Electronics, FCI, KET, Yazaki, Sumitomo Electric, Delphi and other companies.

In the consumer electronics market, the computer connector market is mostly divided by international giants, among which Foxconn (Hon Hai) has the highest proportion; the products of major mobile phone connector manufacturers have their own advantages, with Amphenol, JAE, Molex and other manufacturers accounting for a relatively high proportion; Taiwan manufacturers represented by Foxconn have a certain scale in the consumer electronics field, and mainland China manufacturers are mainly represented by Luxshare Precision.

Data source: Compiled by China Business Industry Research Institute

Development status and competition pattern of my country's connector industry

There are many enterprises in my country that produce harnesses and signal adapters, but most of them have low equipment levels and relatively backward processes and technologies, resulting in overcapacity of low-end products, fierce competition, more general products, and fewer high-tech and high-value-added products.

With the gradual increase in the concentration of downstream industries such as computers, automobiles, communications, and home appliances, downstream manufacturers have put forward higher requirements for the product quality, R&D strength, price level, and delivery deadline of accessory suppliers, and need companies of comparable size to provide supporting services for them and help them continuously reduce costs and improve the competitiveness of their own products.

In recent years, internationally renowned connector companies have transferred their production bases to China, expanding the scale of the domestic connector market and rapidly improving the overall level of connector manufacturing, but at the same time, it has also intensified market competition in the domestic connector industry. Although compared with well-known foreign connector companies, domestic connector manufacturers do not have advantages in technology, scale, and industrial chain, but with the continuous improvement of corporate R&D capabilities, domestic manufacturers are gradually expanding their share in the international connector market with their advantages of low cost, close to customers, and flexible response.

In 2016, the scale of China's connector market reached 16.5 billion US dollars, and it has become the world's largest connector market. Driven by the rapid development of China's economy, downstream connector industries such as communications, computers, and consumer electronics have developed rapidly in China, enabling China's connector market to maintain rapid development. The scale of the connector market is expanding day by day. It is estimated that in 2018, the scale of China's connector market will reach 18 billion US dollars.

Four powerful factors drive the connector industry to a high level of development

1、The rise of smart terminal products has accelerated the pace of product replacement in the consumer electronics industry

In this context, wiring harness products are developing towards more durable structures, more environmentally friendly materials and faster transmission. This has prompted manufacturers to continuously increase their investment in technology research and development, introduce advanced production and testing equipment, speed up the rate of new product development and production, and continuously improve product reliability and technical content in order to gain market advantages in the increasingly fierce market competition.

Manufacturers with leading technology and production capacity can obtain excess profits when new products are in the growth stage by developing new products, so as to maintain large investments in R&D and equipment and maintain their market advantage. At the same time, the improvement of technology content has also raised the industry entry threshold, avoided fierce and vicious price competition within the industry, and promoted the industry to embark on a healthy development path of competing in R&D strength and production strength.

2、Growing market demand

Electronic signal transmission adapters are widely used in smart mobile communications, audio and video equipment, PCs, smart wearable devices and various electronic terminal products. In recent years, the industry has maintained rapid development driven by the strong demand of the terminal consumer market. In particular, the emergence of mobile smart terminals has changed people's lives and entertainment methods, and has also promoted the improvement of electronic signal transmission adapter products in technology and market, driving the rapid development of the industry.

3、More variety of electronic accessories

There are a wide variety of accessories such as data cables, mobile power banks, webcams, wireless WiFi, and smart small appliances, and the market demand is rising rapidly. With the accelerated replacement of smart terminal consumer electronic products such as mobile phones and tablets, product shipments are increasing rapidly, further driving the demand for computer and mobile phone peripheral electronic accessories.

At the same time, with the rise of emerging consumer groups such as the "post-90s" and "post-00s", the consumption habits of electronic product users have become more diversified and enriched. They pursue products with more stable functions and greater personality, and have put forward higher requirements on the functions and styles of peripheral electronic accessories such as mobile power supplies and connecting cables. The categories of electronic accessories are more abundant, which promotes the continuous expansion of the electronic accessories market size.

4、Support from national industrial policies

The connector industry and its upstream and downstream industries are supported by the national industrial policy, and the industry has a good development prospect. Informatization is the trend of economic and social development in the world today. Using informatization to drive industrialization and achieve leapfrog development has become my country's basic industrial strategy. The country has successively issued a number of relevant policies to encourage and support it, and regards new components as the key development area of my country's electronic information industry. The electronic signal transmission adapter product industry will also be able to develop rapidly.