IP&E expert TTI Inc. raised a few eyebrows when it acquired semiconductor specialty distributor Symmetry Electronics in July of 2017. The announcement of TTI’s intent to acquire RF/microwave expert RFMW Ltd. raised a few more. Until 2017, TTI focused exclusively on interconnect, passive and electromechanical (IP&E) components. Its expertise in these products has sustained TTI…
Editor’s Note: Welcome to AspenCore’s Special Project on Focus on Taiwan, Part 2. Offered in the form of an eBook, this special project provides an in-depth look at Taiwan. We explored the topic from multiple angles including the business, technology, and economy. The ascension of mainland China as a manufacturing powerhouse has been both a blessing…
The Microchip Technology/Microsemi Corp. distribution channel is beginning to gel following the March acquisition of Microsemi by Microchip. Microsemi has joined Microchip in its authorization of Avnet Inc. to carry its complete product portfolio across the globe. This is the first major move by the merged entity as it assesses its combined distribution channel. For…
Electronics executives and industry experts are all over the map regarding the impact of U.S. and China tariffs on component supplies, OCMs, distributors and their customers. One thing is crystal clear – tariffs, or “taxes,” in one form or another are going to be passed on to buyers. Research and investment firm Morgan Stanley projects…
Ongoing high demand for electronic components contributed to Arrow Electronics Inc.’s double-digit growth in the second quarter (Q2) of 2018. Sales reached $7.39 billion, an increase of 15 percent from sales of $6.42 billion in Q2 2017. Second-quarter net income of $170 million, or $1.92 per share on a diluted basis, compared with net income of $100 million, or $1.11 per…
Even though U.S. manufacturing activity remains robust — the nation’s leading production index, the PMI, registered 58.1 percent in July — the industry’s concern over tariffs has reached a new high, according to the Institute for Supply Management. The demand picture for U.S.-made goods remains positive, said Tim Fiore, chair for the ISM’s manufacturing business…
Editor’s Note: Welcome to AspenCore’s Special Project on Tesla. This article, along with the articles listed at the bottom of the page, looks at Tesla’s manufacturing and supply chain woes and the long road to a Tesla Model 3. Electric vehicle (EV) start-up Tesla has disrupted the electronics supply chain, but not in the way the…
The pace of reshoring among U.S.-based manufacturers dropped significantly in 2017, according to management consultancy A.T. Kearney, which has been tracking the trend since 2013. After rising to a five-year high in 2016 — in the wake of a U.S. presidential election that paid a lot of attention to manufacturing, job losses and China —…
Incidents of counterfeit electronic components dropped dramatically in 2017, according to ERAI Inc., a global organization that monitors, investigates, and reports issues affecting the supply chain. ERAI reported a total of 771 suspect counterfeit and nonconforming parts in 2017, which shows a marked decline from prior years. The organization is cautious, however, about drawing too…
DRAM supply and demand is so volatile that memory production, prices and availability are often measured separately from other semiconductor products. The electronics industry is currently in the midst of shortages of many critical components. An injunction, which has halted U.S.memory manufacturer Micron Technology from producing certain DRAM and SSD products in China, may press an…