Manufacturing electronic equipment in Europe

Summary form only given. The author explores the current structure of electronic equipment manufacturers in Europe and speculates on the likely changes that will occur in the industry as the wider political and economic changes work through a large, affluent, electronically developing market. Western Europe consists of 18 nations, 12 of whom will form the European Community and a single market entity of 320 million people by 1992. With the inclusion of Eastern Germany and with other East European and European free trade area states being affected by the changes, this grouping represents the biggest cohesive market and manufacturing site for electronics equipment. However, the per capita consumption and manufacturing output of electronics equipment are less than for Japan and the USA. Of the top twenty electronics manufacturing companies in Europe, seven are either American or Japanese, and mergers and liaisons are taking place at a faster pace than anywhere else in the world. The equipment trade balance as a percentage of consumption and printed circuit board imports into Europe from Japan and Southeast Asia are shown