Industry News

Challenges of Miniaturization
It is likely that a modern mobile phone has more computing power than all of the computers that NASA used to send men to the moon in the late 1960s. This idea is especially interesting when one considers that the electronics of that era had almost no integrated circuits (ICs) and that many computer circuits were individual transistors, resistors, and capacitors.Read More

Foxconn is general agent for Apple in China
Foxconn will be operating as general agent for Apple products in mainland China. It will start a large-scale deployment in the mainland channels market later this year, China Tech News reports.Read More

Connor Solutions invests further
UK-based EMS-provider Connor Solutions has complimented recent investments in enhancing capacity with further expenditure on equipment and software tools to improve quality throughout the whole manufacturing process.Read More

Sony says 'no further reduction plans'
The Japanese consumer-electronics maker Sony has no further restructuring plans, beyond those it announced in December 2008. The statement follows recent rumours that were stating further job cuts.Read More

TVAB is looking for government loan
Sweden based Cable Harnesses maker TVAB is looking for a state government loan on approximately 1,1 million Euros from the Swedish Government.Read More

CKD Elektrotechnika grew 15%
CKD Elektrotechnika, based in the Czech Republic grew revenue by 15 percent last year.Read More

Incap add to management team
Incap is proceeding with the renewal of its operating model and has appointed directors for the business units which have been established based on customer segments.Read More

Atmel completes sale of wafer operation in Germany
Atmel has completed the previously announced sale of the Company's wafer fabrication operation in Heilbronn, Germany to Tejas Silicon Holdings (UK), enabling Atmel to achieve its goal of reducing the number of its manufacturing facilities from five to two in 2008.Read More

NXP CEO resigns unexpectedly
NXP Semiconductors has appointed Richard L. Clemmer as President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Clemmer succeeds Frans van Houten who is leaving NXP. Mr Clemmer will assume the new role on January 1, 2009.Read More

Oxley Developments recruits from Poland, El Salvador, India
Oxley Developments is recruiting staff from El Salvador, India and Poland due to shortage of employees in Cumbria, UK.Read More

Europartners’ Top 20 Global Acting Franchise Distributors
Approximate twenty three percent of the world total electronic components supply of 336 billion US Dollar is generated through distribution channels. This is a result of the 2008 published survey, the Worldwide Distribution Report 2008, edited by Europartners Consultants.Read More

Sony to shed 275 in Spain
Japanese consumer electronics giant Sony has presented a package of measures which means that the company plans staff redundancies in Spain.Read More

Aspocomp sells its real estate in Oulu, Finland
The rented out real estate owned by Aspocomp in Oulu has been sold.Read More

Eurocircuits acquires majority stake in PCB Power
Belgium based PCB supplier Eurocircuits has acquired a majority stake in Indian based PCB Power.Read More

Foxconn and Asus to produce Sony Ericsson Xperia X2
Sony Ericsson has chosen EMS providers Foxconn and Asus as their manufacturing partners for the new Xperia X2.Read More

PKC completed acquisition of Man's Polish cable harness production
PKC has completed the aquisition of MAN Nutzfahrzeuge AG's cable harness business from MAN Star Trucks & Buses Spółka z.o.o. in Poland. The deal was announced on October 8, 2008.Read More

Salcomp raises capital loan
EMS-provider Salcomp raised a capital loan of €3,000,000 in accordance with chapter 12 of the Finnish Companies Act.Read More

2G PlayStation 3 features cost reduction, supplier shifts
Sony’s new-generation PlayStation 3 (PS3) features a cost-reduced design due to integration and some key changes in components from the previous-generation model, according to a teardown conducted by iSuppli.Read More

The 10 Biggest Stories on evertiq.com in 2008
2008 was a tumble year in the electronics manufacturing supply chain. One of the biggest news stories on evertiq.com in 2008 was the locations of the top 10 EMS providers and the Foxconn lay offs. Find the ten biggest stories on evertiq.com during this year.Read More

Elcoteq’s home communications business area is expanding
Elcoteq took over Philips’ flat panel TV (FTV) assembly operations in Juarez, Mexico in September 2008. At the same time, Elcoteq’s Home Communications Business Area took a further step towards the goal of broadening its customer base.Read More

IPC: Printed circuit board book-to-bill ratio falls
Declining sales reflect the overall downturn in the electronics industryRead More

Chipmakers struggle to finance operations amid slumping demand
Lower prices and inventory carrying costs may drive consolidation trendRead More

More notebook PCs ship than desktops
The notebook computer age begins as more than 38.6 million portable computer shipped in the third quarterRead More

ITC to probe Spansion’s patent violation complaint
A hearing will be held to review evidence concerning the flash memory manufacturer’s patent infringement chargeRead More

IDC: Bluetooth chips will post 14.5% growth in next four years
Demand for the chips used in the short-range wireless technology will grow as it is used in more cell phones and computersRead More

iSuppli: Surplus semiconductor inventories swell in fourth quarter
Excess chip stockpiles will amount to $10.2 billion in the fourth quarter as semiconductor demand falters.Read More

Expect higher DRAM prices in 2010
Cutbacks in capital spending will doom efforts to cut chip pricesRead More

Chip industry revenue will decline 16.2%
Researcher is pessimistic about 2009, but sees double-digit growth in 2010Read More

Lack of capital spending will mean higher DRAM prices
Memory chipmakers are cutting backing on capital expenditures for DRAM and flash chipsRead More

EMS industry growth will be flat for the year
Little growth is forecast for 2009 as well because of the global economic downturn.Read More

SEMI: Wafer fab capacity growth to slow
Fewer fabs are being built because of low prices and declining revenue for chip companiesRead More

Telecommunications buying expected to drop
Alcatel-Lucent targets supply chain cost reductionsRead More

Catalog distributors enhance online offerings for buyers
Catalog electronics distributors have increased their product lines in recent years to attract new buyers and to increase business with OEMs that already purchase from them. At the same time, catalog distributors are enhancing the functionality of their websites to make it easier for buyers to find and purchase parts.Read More

More consumer OEMs consider outsourcing electronics manufacturing
Buyers involved in outsourcing decisions at consumer electronics OEMs may be busy next year evaluating and qualifying electronics manufacturing services (EMS) providers because of the global economic slowdown. Such a downturn often results in companies reviewing their value proposition and whether it makes sense to manufacture internally or to outsource.Read More

Microcontroller prices will fall despite strong demand
Electronics buyers can expect prices for microcontrollers to fall about 9% over the next year, despite double-digit unit demand growth. Unit shipment growth will average about 10% per year over the next five years. Unit shipments will rise from 11.3 billion to 12 billion in 2009 and then to 15.6 billion in 2012.Read More

Electronics Business Intelligence
56% Buyers who say business is down compared to last month Source: www.purchasingdata.com WHAT IT MEANS: Comments from electronics buyers in Purchasing's monthly survey indicate the electronics industry is starting to feel the economic slowdown that is gripping the overall economy. 51% Electronics buyers who say their purchase orders will decline over the next 90 days Source: www.Read More

Electronics Briefs
Mouser launches European catalog Distributor Mouser Electronics announced it launched its first European catalog at the recent Electronica show in Germany. The 980-page catalogue will initially be available in English and German with other languages to follow. Pricing will be in Euros and British pounds.Read More

Fed exec tells NEDA conference economy will recover in 2009
The U.S. economy suffered negative growth in the third quarter and won't recover until the second half of next year because cutbacks in consumer spending and a declining housing market, according to the vice president and regional director of the Federal Reserve Bank in Chicago. Addressing the annual National Electronics Distributors Association conference recently, William Testa said cutbacks ...Read More

Leadtimes for variable resistors may stretch
Buyers can expect stable pricing for variable resistors as many suppliers cut back on production capacity due to lower demand. But those cutbacks and further inventory reductions could extend leadtimes for variable resisters in the later part of 2009. Variable resistors primarily consist of trimming potentiometers or trimmers, panel potentiometers and precision potentiometers.Read More

Chip Demand to Fall
Global sales of semiconductors are likely to fall 2.2% in 2009 due to weak demand for electronics, says World Semiconductor Trade Statistics. In May it forecast growth for chipmakers of 5.8%. WSTS also forecasts sales to grow 2.5% in 2008, down from a previous outlook of 4.7%, as sales stall before the year-end holidays and inventory piles up, lowering prices.Read More