Editor’s Note: This is the second of two articles examining the impact of tariffs — positive and negative–on the electronics industry. For political pundits, the United States government’s tariff strategy is about political leverage. For electronics OEMs, however, tariffs are about business. “As a United States patron, I look at it through the lens of…
U.S. companies continue to dominate fabless IC sales, according to IC Insights, holding 68 percent of market share with contract fab services. China has gained market share in the fabless IC market, increasing to 13 percent in 2018 from 5 percent in 2010. In 2018, IC Insights reported, four of the top five fastest growing…
This article is part of AspenCore Media’s Special Project on Huawei, dissecting the global impact if China’s telecom equipment giant is sanctioned by the United States and its allies. Huawei Technologies Co. — the controversial Chinese vendor of networking gear and smartphones — faces the real possibility that its telecom equipment will be banned from U.S.…
Editor’s Note: This is the first of two articles examining the impact of tariffs — positive and negative–on the electronics industry. It feels like the U.S.-China tariff-and-trade war has been waging so long we’ve forgotten how it started, but its goals remain the same. The Trump administration is pressuring China to change its behavior toward…
Anyone familiar with Foxconn/Hon Hai Precision Industry retained a healthy dose of skepticism when Foxconn announced it would build advanced liquid-crystal displays (LCDs) in Wisconsin. To put it charitably, Foxconn is not renowned for honoring its contracts. More than 20 years ago, when I was working for Electronic Business magazine, one of our editors spent…
Sixty percent of companies make offshore-sourcing decisions based on rudimentary metrics, such as wage rate, ex-works price or landed cost, often resulting in a 15 to 30 percent understatement of actual offshoring costs. Inclusion of all relevant factors—overhead, balance sheet, risks, corporate strategy and other external and internal business considerations—provides a better determination of the…
U.S. factory activity in December plunged to a four-year low as new orders, production and employment declined sharply from November 2018 levels. Even the electronics industry, which struggled to meet component demand for the entirety of last year, abruptly hit the brakes. “Growth appears to have stopped,” a computer and electronics executive told the Institute for…
Both DRAM and NAND flash prices are expected to decline in the 10-percent range in the first quarter (Q1) of 2019. DRAMeXchange, a division of TrendForce, forecasts DRAM prices will drop by 10 percent or higher in Q1 while NAND flash prices will fall by nearly 10 percent. This is a steeper slide than last…
TTI, Inc. a leading specialty distributor of electronic components, has launched a new web microsite to update customers on the company’s positions concerning the Section 301 China Tariffs mandated by Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. These tariffs on products manufactured in China and imported into the United States have been absorbed by TTI on behalf…
As the electronics industry plows through calendar Q4, murmurs of uncertainty around 2019 are surfacing. Analysts say there’s a possibility that demand for electronic components will cool in 2019, and tariffs continue to fuel uncertainty throughout the electronics supply chain. “Semiconductor memory ASPs are going to fall. Semiconductor sales are going to decline. The U.S…