If calculated in US dollars, the connector industry shrank by 4.6% in the first six months of 2015. After strong performance in 2014, we have reason to believe that it will be difficult to replicate the high growth rate of the same period last year in 2015, but this is only a small part of the final result. The main reason for this contraction was the decline in the exchange rates of the euro and the yen against the US dollar. The following table shows the decline of these currencies in the first half of 2015 and the same period of 2014.

    Europe, China and Japan account for 60% of global connector sales. As a result, fluctuations in the exchange rate of the US dollar have a significant impact on our US dollar sales performance report. The following table shows the sales performance of each region in June, converted in US dollars and local currencies.

    As can be seen from the table, European sales fell by 12.8% in dollar terms, but increased by 7.1% in euro terms. The situation in Japan is similar, with a drop of 9.5% in US dollars and an increase of 6.0% in yen. The exchange rates of these currencies against the US dollar are falling for different reasons. The European Central Bank's quantitative easing policy, the rise in the US Federal Reserve interest rate, Europe ’s record low interest rates, and the impact of the Greek crisis on the euro have all led to the euro ’s continued decline. The fall in the yen is due to Japan's monetary easing, which will lead to inflation and currency depreciation. A weak currency will make Japanese exports cheaper (promoting economic growth) and stimulate wage growth. So far, the growth of the connector industry this year is not optimistic. The weakness in the North American and Chinese markets is worrying, as both regions serve as a benchmark for the world economy. The chart below shows the quarterly performance of the connector industry over the past 13 quarters.
    Quarterly performance of the connector industry in the past 13 quarters Bishop predicts that in the third quarter of 2015, the connector market will shrink by 4.5% compared with the same period last year, and the fourth quarter of 2015 will have a slight increase of 1.1% compared with the same period last year. In US dollars, we predict that the connector industry will shrink by 3.2% this year. Although the connector industry has a strong momentum in the first half of the year, the global fiber optic cable market is still growing strongly. According to CRU estimates, the global fiber optic cable market will reach $ 10 billion in 2015. The Asia-Pacific region's strong growth is due to the Chinese market's demand for fiber optic cables surpassing market expectations. It is reported that more than half of the world's optical fibers and cables are produced in China. With the increasing use of electronic products, mobile phones, computers, cameras, etc., have higher and higher requirements for connectors. At present, the top five application areas for global connector sales are automotive, computers and their peripherals, communications, industrial equipment, and aerospace and military, while the top five applications for growth are consumer electronics, transportation electronics, and medical Electronics, communication electronics, computers and peripherals.