Steve DeCollibus, Managing Editor, Circuitnet

While it is evident that trade shows like last weeks NEPCON East are descending, it is just as evident that the electronics assembly market, at least in north America, is ascending. The show, really five shows in one, looked crowded for a few hours on Wednesday morning, but one soon realized that the electronic assembly component of the show took up three rows of a nine row exhibit and traffic that circulated through these rows tended to be the same people.

It was more a regional rep show compared to the equipment and materials shows of years past. Most of the direct companies I spoke with were not overly excited by the investment they were making.

Many exhibitors we spoke to were not happy the show was in April and not in June. In 2009, the show is scheduled just 2 weeks after APEX, which may cause several exhibitors to skip Nepcon East. That said, it did give me time to talk to people about what seems to be a resurgence in electronics manufacturing in the Americas and tomorrows exclusive will be discussing this in detail.