Printed Circuit Design & Fab - April 2008 - (Page 6)

MARKET WATCH Car Electronics to Grow 13% in 2008 % CHANGE DEC.r JAN.* 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 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. NAVIGATING UP Trends in the U.S. electronics equipment market (shipments only). NOV. Computers/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. 1Includes YTD 9.3 10.3 19.2 0.5 -0.6 16.2 -16.2 10.3 2.5 28.0 10.0 23.7 -0.1 0.5 1.8 -5.4 3.4 12.6 5.0 -0.7 -0.9 3.9 0.7 -3.3 Strong Demand Boosts Smaller Display Prices EL SEGUNDO, CA – Consumers are snapping up digital *Preliminary. semiconductors. Seasonally adjusted. Source: U.S. Department of Commerce Census Bureau, March 5, 2008 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 0.4 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. 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 photo frames and tiny televisions, spurring a tightening of supply 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 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, for iSuppli. 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 METALS PRICES 10/8/07 Gold1 Silver2 Copper3 Tin4 12nd 2Handy INDUSTRY MARKET SNAPSHOT 11/12/07 831.5 215.79 3.07 7.64 12/10/07 809.5 213.94 3.04 7.44 1/7/08 859.25 224.57 3.14 7.51 2/11/08 918 251.64 3.55 7.69 3/10/08 969.25 294.94 3.93 8.73 Semiconductor equipment1 Semiconductors2 Rigid PCBs3 (North America) Flexible PCBs3 (North America) Computers/electronic products4 Book-to-bills of various components/equipment. SEPT. OCT. NOV. DEC. 0.79 0.80 0.82 0.85r 3.27%r 1.01 1.00 4.94r JAN. 0.89p 1.70%p 0.97 0.96 4.73p 741.25 193.85 3.62 7.12 4.39% 4.58% 4.39% 1.08 1.08 4.90 1.08 1.10 4.98 1.06 1.02 4.97 London Fix - COMEX Gold and Harman Silver (COMEX Silver) 3LME Cash Seller and Settlement for Copper 4LME Cash Seller and Settlement for Tin Sources: 1SEMI, 2SIA (3-month moving average growth), 3IPC, 4Census Bureau, pPreliminary, rRevised 6 PRINTED CIRCUIT DESIGN & FAB APRIL 2008 http://ce.org http://isuppli.com http://www.ism.ws http://ec-central.org http://isuppli.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Printed Circuit Design & Fab - April 2008

Printed Circuit Design & Fab - April 2008 Contents Our Line Market Watch Around the World Happenings ROI Tip Jar Interconnect Strategies Positive Plating Improving Fabrication Yields by Design Solve Design Problems with Signal Integrity Optimization Laser Direct Imaging Made Easy Troubleshooting the Innerlayer Process SIPS Give More to Moore Off the Shelf Marketplace Ad Index BGA Bulletin

Printed Circuit Design & Fab - April 2008

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