Avnet Inc. is expanding its offerings in China by launching a super store on Alibaba Group’s China-focused B2B purchasing and wholesale marketplace 1688.com. Through an alliance with Alibaba Cloud, the electronics distributor will also enable services such as IoT prototyping. As China’s largest wholesale platform for industrial products, 1688.com is home to more than 10…
The market for chipmaking equipment is likely to recover next year, energized by China increasing its spending on production gear for memory ICs and other new projects. If China buys as much equipment as anticipated, it will become the world’s largest buyer of fab tools for the first time ever, according to industry organization SEMI.…
The nation’s leading factory index in August contracted for the first time in three years as new orders, production and employment all fell below 50 — the threshold between growth and contraction. The Institute for Supply Management’s PMI dropped to 49.1 percent last month, its lowest reading since 2016. Business confidence has also declined as…
Country-of-origin adjustments can help U.S. high-tech companies minimize geographical risks and mitigate the impact of tariffs. But the strategy can be costly, complicated and risky; and a decision that’s not easily undone. Tariffs are not going to just disappear, market experts say. Even with a delay on certain Chinese-import tariffs, the likelihood of a cease…
SHENZHEN, China — A two-day shut down of Hong Kong International Airport forced the cancellation of hundreds of passenger flights and caused a fair amount of anxiety in the electronics supply chain. However, as of August 15th, passenger flights had returned to normal and supply-chain pressure had eased. The negative impact on imports, exports and…
The two-day closure of Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) had not impacted air cargo as of late Tuesday, although future delays appear inevitable. Given the volume of freight that passes through the airport — 5.1 million metric tons in 2018—any disruption of air traffic can hinder cargo departures. Air freight carriers, including Cathay Pacific, FedEx,…
Editor’s note: This is the second of two articles focusing on strategies that mitigate the impact of tariffs on imported goods. Tax and business advisory firm KPMG identified seven successful tactics in its webinar TradeWatch: Section 301 Tariffs; What we’ve Learned in Year One. This article covers recommendations four through seven. The U.S.-China trade war…
U.S. factory activity declined for the fourth straight month in July as weakening demand and ongoing trade anxiety weighed on manufacturers. The nation’s leading factory index, the PMI, fell to its lowest point since 2016, dropping by 0.5 percent to a level of 51.2. “This is the fourth straight month of PMI decline without any…
Editor’s note: This is one of two articles focusing on strategies that mitigate the impact of tariffs on imported goods. Tax and business advisory firm KPMG identified seven successful tactics in its webinar TradeWatch: Section 301 Tariffs; What we’ve Learned in Year One. This article covers recommendations one through three. Tariffs, according to leading tax…
The tariffs that President Donald Trump has slapped on Chinese imports haven’t sparked the widespread return of manufacturers to the U.S. that Trump envisioned, according to A.T. Kearney’s latest Reshoring Index. The United States has made significant changes to its trade policy with the specific intent of bringing manufacturing home. However, imports from 14 traditional…