As we head into the new year, EPSNews looks back at the top 10 stories of 2018. For the second year in a row, the most popular topic were the shortages in the electronic components industry. It’s not surprising that four out of the top five articles focused on shortages thanks to a wide range…
Despite some high-profile setbacks with autonomous vehicles, IC Insights projects that automotive electronics systems growth will remain robust and automotive remains a hotbed for semiconductor growth. Sales of automotive electronics systems are forecast to increase 7.0 percent in 2018 and 6.3 percent in 2019, the highest growth rate in both years among the six major end-use applications…
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.…
Editor’s note: The most ubiquitous components in any electronics design – interconnects, passives and electromechanical (IP&E) devices – are in the midst of an unprecedented supply shortage. What distinguishes this scarcity from others is the broad base of markets that are desperate for IP&E. OEMs are facing idle production lines while they wait for devices…
The causes, effects and implications of “The Great Component Shortage of 2018” have been thoroughly analyzed. The automotive and IoT industries have been driving unprecedented demand for smaller and more efficient passive electronics, which in turn has stretched lead times for these once- commoditized components to the breaking point. What hasn’t been discussed, however, is the equal…
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 —…
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…
Every dark cloud has a silver lining. Unfortunately, the real beneficiaries of the current long-term and lasting component shortages are counterfeiters. “Current estimates for the annual loss to the electronics industry due to counterfeit components is north of $5 billion,” said Creative Electron CEO Bill Cardoso in an article on EPSNews sister publication EBN. “With…
U.S. manufacturers that rely on access to electronic components are on the brink of not being able to fulfill their customers’ orders. But manufacturing is still humming: The Institute for Supply Management’s leading factory index, the PMI, increased by 1.4 percent in May to 58.7. However, comments from the computer and electronics sector indicate OEMs…