If you look around the North American PCB landscape, the numbers have certainly dwindled, almost as if someone grabbed the eastern seaboard and shook it out like a blanket, sending most of our manufacturing base to Asia, leaving a scattered few behind to figure out how to survive the next shake.

You certainly can’t put the ketchup back in the bottle, but even still, is there a way the U.S. industry can survive? Since this appears to be today's Million Dollar Question, CircuiTree will take a major swipe at getting an answer. November 8 - 9 we will host a conference in Anaheim, “How to Survive As a North American Manufacturer,” which will feature a full day of technical papers on how to increase technology in your shop all the while improving yield, to be as cost competitive as possible. On the second day we will have a panel discussion led by columnist and Revere Group member Dan Feinberg, with industry representation from across the supply chain. Stay tuned to the CircuiTree LIVE Web page for complete details.

With your help, we will attack the issues, get a bit controversial, and talk about the things some just don’t want to talk about. It’s a matter of survival here. Be sure to mark your calendars and bring your case scenarios and hot-topic questions to our panel.

In advance of the conference, we want to hear from you. What are your questions, recommendations, or thoughts for the future? Don’t pull your punches. Post them on this discussion forum and we will use these as the basis for our conference.

For instance:

Is there lobbying we can do as an industry to remain competitive? SEMI certainly seems to think so with its Secure the Future campaign.

What about the value of the U.S. dollar versus the RMB?

Is anyone really concerned with the component counterfeiting issue?

What about the trade deficit and it’s long-term consequences for our economy?