Circuits Assembly - April 2008 - (Page 16)

W TCH A Navigating Up Trends in the U.S. electronics equipment market (shipments only). % Change Jan.* YTD Nov. Dec.r Computers and electronics products Computers Storage devices Other peripheral equipment Nondefense communications equipment Defense communications equipment A/V equipment Semiconductors Components1 Nondefense search and navigation equipment Defense search and navigation equipment Medical, measurement and control -0.1 0.5 1.8 -5.4 3.4 12.6 5.0 -0.7 -0.9 3.9 0.7 -3.3 0.8 2.9 -4.6 9.3 4.0 -11.9 -6.4 -1.1 2.9 -7.4 6.1 -2.6 6.2 0.2 9.2 -4.6 -4.5 6.6 -4.4 21.9 2.6 13.4 3.4 10.5 9.3 10.3 19.2 0.5 -0.6 16.2 -16.2 10.3 2.5 28.0 10.0 23.7 Market Edited by Chelsey Drysdale Car Electronics to Grow 13% in 2008 ARLINGTON, VA – Sales of in-vehicle consumer electronics will grow at a rate of 13% to more than $12.8 billion in 2008, according to the Consumer Electronics Association (ce.org). The typical American spends nearly 17 hours a week in their car, the CEA says, and 38% of drivers intend to purchase and install an in-vehicle CE product during the next year. At the top of the list are remote vehicle starters (15%), in-dash navigation systems (13%) and car alarms (12%). There are also strong purchase intentions for technologies like satellite radio, HD radio and DVD players, the company reports. rRevised. *Preliminary. 1Includes semiconductors. Seasonally adjusted. Source: U.S. Department of Commerce Census Bureau, March 5, 2008 Strong Demand Boosts Smaller Display Prices EL SEGUNDO, CA – Consumers are snapping up digital photo frames and tiny televisions, spurring a period of supply tightness and price increases for small/medium displays that is expected to linger through the first quarter, says iSuppli Corp (isuppli.com). In general, prices for smaller-sized small/medium displays are remaining steady or decreasing slightly, while larger displays are experiencing price increases. For 2008, small/medium display revenue is expected to rise to $27.6 billion, up 14.7% compared to 2007. Demand and supply are almost even, the firm says. “Availability of some screens has been constrained, which led to something that hasn’t been seen in the small/medium display market for a year: price increases,” said Vinita Jakhanwal, principal analyst, mobile displays. February Manufacturing Fails to Grow TEMPE, AZ – The manufacturing sector failed to grow in February, as the PMI dipped slightly to 48.3%. New orders decreased 40 basis points – the third straight month below parity, says the Institute for Supply Management (ism.ws), which issued the report. For the month, backlogs fell, but at their slowest rate since October. Production slipped 4.5 points. Inventories fell sharply as manufacturers pared stocks, and customer inventories were down marginally as well. The overall economy grew for the 76th consecutive month. “The manufacturing sector failed to grow during the month, as the PMI fell below 50%, which indicates weaker performance in February compared to January,” said ISM spokesperson, Norbert J. Ore. “Manufacturers' order backlogs continue to erode. With manufacturing inventories at reasonable levels, the major concern is rising prices and falling volume.” Oct. PMI New orders Production Inventories Customer inventories Backlogs 50.9 52.5 49.6 47.2 54.0 46.0 Nov. 50.8 52.6 51.9 46.9 49.0 41.5 Dec. 48.4 46.9 48.6 45.4 51.5 43.0 Jan. 50.7 49.5 55.2 49.1 49.5 44.0 Feb. 48.3 49.1 50.7 45.4 49.0 45.0 2008 Component Orders Flat ARLINGTON, VA – Sales of electronics components will grow at essentially the same rate or slightly higher this year than in 2007, and the markets determining component supply and demand look positive, in spite of a precarious economy, says ECA (ec-central.org). After an uptick in December, component orders dropped in January, keeping the 12-month order average somewhat flat, the firm says. Consumer electronics – the market driver of late – will grow 6.1% this year, ECA predicts, while iSuppli (isuppli.com) forecasts a 7% rise in global electronics gear revenue. Source: Institute for Supply Management, March 3, 2008 Industry Market Snapshot Book-to-bills of various components/equipment. Sept. Semiconductor equipment1 Semiconductors2 Rigid PCBs3 (North America) Flexible PCBs3 (North America) Computers/electronic products4 Sources: 1SEMI, 2SIA Metals Index Nov. 0.82 4.39% 1.06 1.02 4.97 Bureau, Dec. 0.85r 3.27%r 1.01 1.00 4.94r Jan. 0.89p 1.70%p 0.97 0.96 4.73p Date LME Cash Seller and Settlement for Tin LME Cash Seller and Settlement for Lead Handy and Harman Silver (COMEX Silver) LME Cash Seller and Settlement for Copper 3/12/07 $6.28 $0.85 $188.29 $2.80 Price Per Lb. 12/10/07 1/07/08 $7.44 $1.14 $213.94 $3.04 $7.51 $1.21 $224.57 $3.14 2/11/08 $7.69 $1.37 $251.64 $3.55 3/10/08 $8.73 $1.43 $294.94 $3.93 Oct. 0.80 4.58% 1.08 1.10 4.98 3IPC , 4Census 0.79 4.39% 1.08 1.08 4.90 (3-month moving average growth), ppreliminary, rrevised 16 Circuits Assembly APRIL 2008 circuitsassembly.com http://ce.org http://isuppli.com http://ec-central.org http://isuppli.com http://circuitsassembly.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Circuits Assembly - April 2008

Circuits Assembly - April 2008 Contents Caveat Lector Industry News Market Watch Talking Heads Screen Printing Better Manufacturing Design and Modeling of High-Speed, High-Density 3-D CSPs and Memory Modules The ‘Big Brush Off’ Revisited Impact of Soldering Atmosphere on Solder Joint Formation Beyond Moore’s Law ESD Control For Class 0 ESDS Devices Growing Your Brand This Year’s Model Tech Tips Reflow Soldering Process Doctor Pb-Free Lessons Learned Getting Lean Equipment Advances Apex Product Preview Ad Index Assembly Insider Technical Abstracts

Circuits Assembly - April 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.