According to a study by California-based market intelligence firm, Global Industry Analysts, Inc, the electronics contract manufacturing services market will touch US$ 231 billion by 2015. Over the years, EMS companies have been able to broaden the spectrum of services offered by them from the simple manufacturing of components, to more complex manufacturing services, thus leading to an increased number of OEMs outsourcing much of their manufacturing.
The recession had an impact with contract manufacturers, with revenues witnessing a steep decline due to a fall in orders from automotive, mobile phone equipment, and capital equipment (semiconductor) markets. However, original design manufacturers (ODMs) exhibited resilience to the adverse conditions, partly attributed to their focus on low mix, high volume products such as motherboards, notebooks and PCs. The strong growth potential of ODMs is also attributed to their strengthening presence in the fast growth markets, such as LCD TVs and mobile PCs.