Electronics Manufacturing
The industry that designs and produces electronic devices and components, from consumer gadgets to industrial equipment, and a major consumer of copper, gold, rare earth elements and other critical raw materials.
Covered in 2 MetalsCost.com News Intelligence articles, most recently on September 15, 2026.
Overview
Electronics manufacturing designs and assembles the printed circuit boards, chips, connectors and finished devices behind everything from smartphones to industrial control systems — much of it via contract manufacturers (EMS/ODM firms) working for brand owners. Global EMS revenue reached roughly $650 billion in 2025, increasingly reshaped by AI data-center buildouts alongside the familiar consumer-device cycle.
Metals It Depends On
Copper is the industry's highest-volume material, forming the conductive traces on every circuit board and the wiring inside devices and data-center infrastructure. Gold plays a smaller but essential role: it doesn't tarnish, so it plates connectors and forms fine bonding wire linking silicon dies to their packages, and electronics consistently accounts for roughly 7-10% of global gold demand. Tin solder joins components to boards, and rare-earth elements show up in miniature motors, speakers and sensors.
Sources
- Global EMS market reached ~$650 billion in 2025 — Global Electronic Manufacturing Services (EMS) Market Size (2025)
- Electronics accounts for ~7-10% of global gold demand — How Technology and Electronics Are Driving Gold Demand in 2026 (2026)
Coverage
Indonesia's Arsari Tambang Partners With Singapore's Asahi Solder to Expand Tin-Solder Production
A domestic solder-paste supplier gives Indonesian and regional electronics assemblers a more localized alternative to imported solder for surface-mount circuit board production.
Denmark Launches New Project to Recover Rare Earths and Copper From E-Waste as Europe's Recycling Gap Widens
A more reliable domestic supply of recovered tantalum, rare earths and copper would reduce electronics makers' exposure to Chinese export restrictions over time, though CIRCUIT's component-reuse and circular-design tracks also require near-term changes to how boards are manufactured.
