SMM Tin Summit: Environmentally-friendly policies to continue to weigh on solder industry

Shenzhen, Aug 31 (SMM) – Governmental policies such as environmental initiatives are likely to continue to weigh on the Chinese solder industry, said Meng Guangshou, a senior engineer and the Lifetime Honorary President of the Solder Branch of China Electronic Materials Industry Association.

This is despite growth in China’s tin output during 2015-2017. Speaking at the SMM Tin Summit on Friday August 31 in Shenzhen, Guangdong, Meng’s data showed that China produced 165,000 mt of refined tin in 2015, 166,000 mt in 2016 and 168,500 mt in 2017.

He also said that US-Sino trade disputes have caused much uncertainty in the industry and that the volatile exchange rate is likely to further impact solder products.

As manufacturers try to upgrade products, they face much pressure in a market that usually relies on traditional, status-quo products, Meng said.

He also said that the industry remains unaffected by cuts on overcapacity, smart manufacturing and cloud intelligence.