The huge market for automotive microcontrollers—which accounted for about 40 percent of total MCU sales over the last decade—has been on an uneven ride in the past several years, according to IC Insights. After climbing 12 percent in 2017, worldwide automotive MCU sales slowed to a crawl in 2018, rising just 1 percent. A borderline…
Executives remain optimistic about the global economy at the close of Q2, but not every region is benefiting equally from Covid-19 vaccination rates and re-opened businesses. IPC has raised its outlook for the United States, Europe, Mexico, Australia and Taiwan but notes Japan, India, Indonesia and Turkey continue to struggle. A recent McKinsey survey likewise…
With Intel Corp. predicting a scarcity of semiconductors that will last years, chip makers are set to build 29 new fabs by the end of 2022, according to industry group SEMI. These plans will have little impact on the current shortage, which has spread well beyond the automotive industry. Although fab plans represent a boon…
Sensors and actuators made with MEMS technology are forecast to grow by high double-digit percentages in the next several years after starting a recovery in 2H20, according to IC Insights. Sales of semiconductor sensors and actuators made with microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology are expected to grow about 16 percent in 2021 to a record-high $15.9…
With Intel Corp. predicting that the chip shortage could last years, foundries — and chip makers — are in a position to increase prices. TrendForce reports various foundries are raising their wafer prices and adjusting their product mixes to ensure profitability. Back in March, Intel announced plans to invest $20 billion in U.S. chip facilities…
The labor shortage is fast becoming the next significant problem for the supply chain. Many frontline warehouse employees fall into the category of shift workers who have yet to return to the workforce, even as the economy bounces back, and the demand for workers still continues to climb. While these critical jobs remain difficult to fill, employers are focusing on optimizing…
Even in the most challenging of economies, electronics companies design new products. Component makers and distributors that assist OEMs with their designs stand to benefit from high margins or volume orders once an item reaches mass production. Catalog distributors that specialize in low-volume, high-mix design and engineering orders, such as Mouser Electronics, weather market volatility…
Optimism in the electronics market is surging, according to ECIA, bolstering data from a national manufacturing index that reached a 37-year high in March. The ECIA’s Electronic Component Sales Trend (ECST) monthly survey, which assesses month-to-month sales growth sentiment, leapt up between 26 and 27 points in component and end-market measures from February to March.…
While Renesas officially aims to get its Naka 12-inch wafer production line back to full operation within one month, research firm TrendForce expects the immediate task of restoring the cleanroom and installing new equipment systems to take much longer than that. Renesas said that the fire burned about 5 percent of the total area of…
The snowstorms in Texas have led to a 133-car pileup, nearly a half-million without power, and millions in the state under boil-water notices. The storms’ impact on semiconductor fabrication plants in the Lone Star state has also received attention. “The storm-related power outages in Texas could have a mind-blowing impact on fabs and, in turn,…