The month of August has the distinction of being the worst month –so far — for manufacturing since July 2009. Today, the Institute of Supply Management (ISM) reported manufacturing contracted for the third consecutive month in August, reaching an index level of 49.6 percent. (A level over 50 indicates growth; under 50 means contraction.) August’s…
On Aug. 28, I read about the acquisition of Petalogix, which offered an embedded Linux platform for FPGA, by {complink 6248|Xilinx Inc.}. It reminded me of all the embedded operating system acquisitions made by chip companies, hardware companies, and larger tool companies in the last decade. I wonder if the trend will continue and how…
When the global electronics industry is humming along and all geographies are growing (when was the last time that happened?) it doesn’t seem to matter much where companies are headquartered. But when some regions are more economically challenged than others, location begins to make a difference. For example, IHS’s recent examination of the global semiconductor…
Europe may be causing many executives to shrug their shoulders with continued uncertainty, but some distributors are making the most of the unpredictable economic spiral and ratcheting up decent financial quarters. {complink 12816|Mouser Electronics Inc.}, for instance, recently reported strong and continuing growth with its nine European offices in Germany, the UK, Czech Republic, France,…
I mentioned in another post that Thailand is moving away from being a cheap labor hub for high-volume, labor-intensive production. (See: Thailand: Thinking Big.) By all indications — government reports, tax incentive strategies, zoning considerations, a minimum wage increase, corporate expansion plans, and several days of conversations with executives and Thailand's Board of Investment officials…
Now that the industry's two largest distributors have posted quarterly results, it's pretty clear that electronics customers are proceeding with caution on component orders. {complink 453|Arrow Electronics Inc.} and {complink 577|Avnet Inc.}, which together represent virtually all component manufacturers and more than half the electronics distribution market in certain geographies, say end customers are pushing…
PHOENIX — Avnet, Inc. (NYSE:AVT) today announced results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended June 30, 2012: Sales for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2012 decreased 3.1% from the prior fiscal year to $25.7 billion; pro forma revenue was down 4.4% year over year and 4.1% in constant currency Adjusted operating income…
PARIS — They say the euro is coming apart at the seams. This, however, was not evident this morning when, with my wife, Hotlips, I made the involuntary rounds of several bank branches in this European capital. All we wanted was to deposit a few non-euros into our Paris euro account. We entered the neighborhood…
It's a good time for bargain hunting in the electronic component industry, but will anybody bite? IHS iSuppli reported today that a number of components are set for higher-than-seasonal price declines in third and fourth quarters of this year. The market research firm specifically cited oscillators. Voltage-controlled crystal oscillator (VCXO) prices are set to decline…
CHICAGO — Littelfuse, Inc. (NASDAQ:LFUS) today reported sales and earnings for the second quarter of 2012. Sales for the second quarter of 2012 increased 10% sequentially to $175.9 million consistent with second quarter guidance and within $1 million of last year’s record second quarter despite over $4 million of unfavorable currency effects related primarily to…