Reports of counterfeit parts in global components markets have soared dramatically in the last two years, according market analyst IHS.
In 2011, manufacturers and suppliers in the supply chain reported 1,363 separate verified counterfeit-part incidents worldwide, a four-fold increase from 2009, according to IHS.
"The counterfeit issue is serious, it's growing and it's a major problem for electronics makers--especially military and aerospace companies," said Rory King, director, supply chain product marketing at IHS.
A majority of incidents of counterfeits were reported by US-based military and aerospace electronics firms.
"However, the parts themselves may impact any worldwide company using the same electronics within their products," said IHS.
To help combat the problem, President Obama on December 31, 2011, signed the fiscal year 2012 US National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which adds regulations for counterfeit part detection and avoidance.
Members at all tiers of the defense supply chain must put counterfeit risk mitigation procedures in place and certain steps must be completed within 270 days of the president's signature.
"Now that United States legislation will hold defense suppliers accountable for counterfeit issues, access to these incident data becomes a critical decision-support capability for business systems," said King.
The IHS data includes information from the industry's two recognized reporting bodies - ERAI, a privately held global information services organisation and the Government-Industry Data Exchange Program (GIDEP).
"The problem has grown increasingly hard to ignore, as reports of counterfeits have risen exponentially and most companies lack the awareness and capability to effectively detect and mitigate the growing problem," said King.
Counterfeit parts often are often cheap substitutes or salvaged waste components that fail to meet strict military and aerospace specifications, leading to potential failures.
