Circuits Assembly - August 2008 - (Page 14)

W TCH A Semis Drop by Half Trends in the U.S. electronics equipment market (shipments only). % Change Mar. 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 rRevised. Market Edited by Chelsey Drysdale Q2 Global PC Shipments Up 16% YoY YTD 1.2 -4.5 9.4 5.8 -1.7 22.6 -11.1 -6.4 -0.6 3.3 4.8 11.1 Aprilr 5.9 -10.0 -2.4 7.3 -3.9 -8.8 15.5 35.3 1.4 -0.5 -0.7 9.4 May* -2.3 8.5 -5.8 -2.8 3.2 3.0 -5.8 -19.8 -1.7 3.5 10.9 -1.8 -0.8 -4.2 1.7 2.7 1.1 4.4 -1.2 -5.5 1.0 0.8 2.2 -1.6 EL SEGUNDO, CA – Worldwide PC shipments in the first quarter rose in accordance with normal seasonal patterns, increasing 16% over a year ago, according to iSuppli Corp (isuppli.com). Global PC unit shipments rose to 71.9 million units. Hewlett-Packard (hp.com), Dell (dell.com) and Acer (acer.com) retained the top-three rankings with no change from the previous quarter. Execs Bullish on US Mfg. WASHINGTON – Some 44% of North American companies intend to expand production in the US over the next three years, according to a survey released in June by the National Association of Manufacturers (nam.org), The Manufacturing Institute (manufacturinginstitute.co.uk), the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters (cme-mec.ca) and Deloitte (deloitte.com). And 57% say they will become more globally competitive over the next five years across the supply chain from sales, marketing and customer service to engineering and information technology. The survey, Made in North America, reflects the views of 321 top-tier executives in a broad range of North American manufacturing companies of all sizes, 45% of which are based in the US. Those surveyed cited controlling labor costs, enacting favorable tax policies and assisting with the severe shortage of skilled manufacturing workers as the top three areas that policymakers should address to help improve their global competitiveness, added Emily DeRocco, NAM senior vice president. Nearly 80% of respondents identified tax cuts for manufacturers as the key factor promoting innovation and R&D. *Preliminary. 1Includes semiconductors. Seasonally adjusted. Source: U.S. Department of Commerce Census Bureau, July 2, 2008 June PMI Above 50% TEMPE, AZ – Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in June, following four months of contraction, says the Institute for Supply Management (ism.ws). June’s PMI was up 0.6 points, reaching 50.2%, while new orders dipped slightly to 49.6%. A PMI reading above 50% indicates that the manufacturing economy is generally expanding. “The manufacturing sector showed a slight improvement in June, as the PMI registered above 50% after four months of decline. While the PMI indicates minimal change is taking place month over month, that is hardly the situation. When viewed from the manufacturer’s perspective, they are experiencing higher prices for their inputs, while demand for their products is slowing,” said ISM spokesperson Norbert J. Ore. For the month, production increased 0.3 points to 51.5%, and inventories were up 3.2 points to 51.2%. Backlogs increased to 47.5%, up 1.5 points. Customer stock levels shot up eight points to 55%. April PMI New orders Production Inventories Customer inventories Backlogs Feb. 48.3 49.1 50.7 45.4 49.0 45.0 Mar. 48.6 46.5 48.7 44.9 51.0 47.5 Apr. 48.6 46.5 49.1 48.1 45.0 51.5 May 49.6 49.7 51.2 48.0 47.0 46.0 June 50.2 49.6 51.5 51.2 55.0 47.5 World Growth Rates Slowing LOS ALTOS, CA – China’s electronic equipment production market is finally slowing down, and taking the rest of the world with it. Citing the recent economic environment and spate of earthquakes, research firm Henderson Ventures (hendersonventures.com) said China’s shortterm equipment production output will drop eight points to 13.5% this year, before rebounding slightly in 2009 and 2010. The appreciating currency, higher labor costs and tighter environmental policies will conspire to “subdue” expansion in the longer term, Henderson said, although growth rates will remain “attractive.” Worldwide equipment production is forecast to rise 6.4% this year, down from 9.1% last year. It will grow 7.5% in 2009, and 8.8% in 2010, the firm predicts. Source: Institute for Supply Management, July 1, 2008 Industry Market Snapshot Book-to-bills of various components/equipment. Jan. Semiconductor equipment1 Semiconductors2 Rigid PCBs3 (North America) Flexible PCBs3 (North America) Computers/electronic products4 0.89 1.70% 0.97 0.96 4.77 Feb. 0.92 1.34% 0.99 0.96 4.99 Mar. 0.87 1.82% 1.00 0.99 5.18 Apr. 0.82r 3.82%r 1.01 0.99 5.16r May 0.79p 5.8%p 0.95 1.01 5.06p Metals Index Price Per Lb. 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 7/9/07 $6.44 $1.34 $188.73 $3.65 4/7/08 $9.35 $1.37 $298.60 $3.91 5/6/08 $10.99 $1.17 $248.71 $3.93 6/9/08 $10.23 $0.88 $253.83 $3.68 7/14/08 $10.70 $0.88 $277.68 $3.85 Sources: 1SEMI, 2SIA (3-month moving average growth), 3IPC , 4Census Bureau, ppreliminary, rrevised 14 Circuits Assembly AUGUST 2008 circuitsassembly.com http://isuppli.com http://dell.com http://hp.com http://www.acer.com http://manufacturinginstitute.co.uk http://nam.org http://cme-mec.ca http://deloitte.com http://ism.ws http://hendersonventures.com http://circuitsassembly.com

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

Circuits Assembly - August 2008 Contents Caveat Lector Industry News Market Watch Talking Heads Screen Printing Better Manufacturing Auditing a Fabricatior Cutting Machine Programming Time Simultaneous Acoustic Imaging and Surface Mapping Tech Tips Soldering Test and Inspection Process Doctor Pb-Free Lessons Learned Getting Lean Component Advances Product Spotlight Ad Index Assembly Insider Techincal Abstracts

Circuits Assembly - August 2008

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