If one of your supply chain partners suffers a debilitating disruption, how quickly can it recover? A healthy company should have the working capital on hand to take immediate financial action. Determining the overall health of a company is far more complex than simply looking at revenues and profits. Equally important, especially for investors, is a…
While Americans say they prefer to buy products manufactured in the U.S., they are largely unaware of the robust state of the domestic manufacturing sector, according to a recent Thomas survey. “’Made In America’ is a label that manufacturers are eager to apply, as consumer sentiment for years has indicated that U.S.-made products tend to…
“Winter is Coming” is a saying in The North, one of the seven Kingdoms in Westeros, the fantasy kingdom in Game of Thrones. It is a reminder and a warning. Westeros is subject to climate cycles. During the cold portion of the cycle, a bitter cold winter arrives, especially devastating in The North. “Winter is…
Analysts report that DRAM prices have reached an inflection point and will post lower average selling prices (ASPs) in the fourth quarter. Spot prices for DRAMs have fallen since the beginning of the year and dropped to below-contract levels in in June. That’s an indication of declining prices across the overall market, according to market…
Although California’s update to its Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 — Proposition 65–doesn’t appear to impact electronics, experts warn the supply chain must revise its compliance practices or risk the consequences. “Violations often ensnare everyone in that supply chain, and at that point you bring in the lawyers and the toxicologists, and the costs…
Junko Yoshida is my friend. Permit me this name dropping. I can’t help it; she is a celebrated, award-winning, and globally recognized technology writer and media executive. Ask Junko, though, about her preferred title, and it will undoubtedly be, simply, journalist — technology journalist, that is. This week, another title dropped into Junko’s lap when…
One of the electronics industry’s largest hybrid distributors – America II Electronics—has acquired another leading hybrid, Advanced MP Technology. The combination of two companies—an estimated $427 million in revenue—would rank the company 15th on EPSNews’ Top Global Distributors List. Both companies have been augmenting their independent – or non-authorized – distribution model with franchised suppliers.…
The market for microcontrollers (MCUs) —the IC industry’s original system-on-chip (SoC) product category—is expected to continue hitting record-high annual revenues through 2022 after worldwide sales dropped 6 percent in 2016 because of a slowdown in MCU unit shipments. After drawing down MCU inventories in 2016, systems manufacturers stepped up purchases of microcontrollers in 2017 with unit…
Electronic component supplies are only going to get tighter as 2018 approaches calendar Q4. Demand remains at or above normal levels in the automotive, IoT, and industrial markets; capacity ramp-up may not bear fruit until the end of the year or 2019; and tariffs are likely to unravel an already-stressed supply chain. Investment firms Morgan…
AspenCore Media’s Special Project on Apple’s $1 trillion climb takes a look back at Apple’s business, its strategy to go vertical, and its supply chain. On a cross-Atlantic flight in 2008, I happened to sit down next to Kirk Kirkpatrick, a tech executive who’d worked for Apple early in his career. After hours of…