Seismic shifts don’t happen all at once. Year by year there’s a little movement, a little resistance, sudden realignment, then aftershocks. It’s an apt metaphor for the electronics distribution industry, where there’s continual movement amongst customers, suppliers and competitors. Key events during 2016 are beginning to change the landscape for the Top 50 Distributors of…
The first half of 2017 is shaping up as the perfect storm for electronics suppliers as capacity constraints, merger and acquisition, obsolescence and higher-than-expected demand is creating component shortages across the supply chain. The risk of double booking has been cited in at least two research reports, indicating the 2001 inventory glut may be fading…
The domestic manufacturing industry continued to expand in May as the nation’s leading production index increased 0.1 percent from the prior month. The Institute for Supply Management’s PMI reached 54.9 percent in May, marking the 96th consecutive month of industry growth. New orders, employment and inventories of raw materials also increased in May, indicating manufacturers…
At the recent Electronic Distribution Show in Las Vegas, NV, global distributor TTI, Inc., announced the appointment of Don Akery to the position of President TTI Americas, effective September 2017, allowing for transition of his current responsibilities. Founder, and CEO, Paul Andrews commends Akery’s accomplishments with TTI; “Since joining TTI a mere four-plus years ago,…
Thanks to Amazon.com, a customer’s online buying experience is every bit as important as the item that’s acquired. E-commerce b2b capabilities have been lagging b2c, prompting companies to look for ways they can provide fast, accurate and inexpensive delivery options. Innovators have been looking at the logistics space where there’s lots of opportunity for improvement (See…
High-tech companies are developing leading-edge solutions to improve a variety of functions in logistics—a complex web of freight movers, third-party logistics companies and parcel delivery services. Here are a handful of companies that have recently launched logistics-related products and services: Freightos has developed an online marketplace that gives importers and exporters on-demand access to global freight services. Freight forwarders,…
The U.S. manufacturing sector is expected to expand for the remainder of 2017 while the pace of offshoring appears to be abating. Sixty-four percent of the U.S. purchasing and supply chain executives polled for the Institute for Supply Management’s Semiannual Economic Forecast predict their revenue will grow by 8.5 percent over 2016, while 12 percent expect…
After a long spell of severe price and margin erosion, component makers are successfully increasing prices across a wide range of devices. The sensor/actuator market ended four straight years of declining prices in 2016, reported IC Insights this week, with a 0.9 percent price decline vs. a 9.3 percent drop during 2012-2015. Analog and MCU…
Along with avoiding counterfeit components, the electronics supply chain can now add cybersecurity concerns to its “To Do” list. Electronics suppliers and distributors already must worry about cyber-threats such as malicious code being inserted or activated in components that are already in the supply chain. Adding to that is the recent DFARS Clause 252.204-7012 requirement…
The pace of manufacturing growth in the U.S. cooled somewhat in April, even though the segment continues to expand. New orders and factory employment decelerated from March levels while the nation’s leading production index, the Institute for Supply Management’s PMI, declined by 2.4 percent to 54.8. Any number above 50 indicates growth, and most of the…