News
Manufacturing grew for the 17th consecutive month, ISM said, based on its monthly poll of the supply chain. ISM said that while growth remains strong, inflation worries are rampant.
"Strong growth continues, but at a slower rate than in September," said ISM chairman Norbert Ore. "However, energy prices and commodity price inflation are major concerns for manufacturing buyers."
The PMI measure of economic activity fell 1.7 points to 56.8%, but remained above the benchmark 50% level for the 17th straight month.
New orders rose 0.2 points and production declined 6.8 points. "Manufacturing experienced three quarters of strong growth this year [and] the decline in order backlogs is an indication that manufacturing has peaked," said Ore.
Trends in pricing (higher) and customer inventories (lower) continued. Order backlogs dropped in October, yet imports and exports rose.
Electronic Components and Equipment, and Industrial and Commercial Equipment and Computers were among the sectors reporting growth.
June July August Sept. Oct.
PMI 61.1 62.0 59.0 58.5 56.8
New orders 60.0 64.7 61.2 58.1 58.3
Production 63.2 66.1 59.5 61.6 54.8
Inventories 51.1 49.9 51.7 51.0 48.2
Customer inventories 39.0 37.5 45.5 41.4 43.5
Backlogs 58.5 58.0 55.0 55.0 49.0
Source: Institute for Supply Management, November 2004
ATLANTA, Oct. 19 — The ninth annual PCB Design Conference East featured a sold-out show floor of more than 50 exhibitors and enjoyed a double-digit increase in overall attendance, conference organizers said.
The Oct. 4-8 event attracted 585 conference and expo-only attendees, a 30% increase over 2003, said UP Media Group Inc. in a press statement. (UPMG is the parent company of Circuits Assembly.) The conference drew 158 attendees, a 56% increase over 2003.
The numbers do not include PCB East exhibitors.
"The electronics design and manufacture industries certainly struggled from 2001 to 2003 but began to pick up steam in early 2004. That growth is evident in the soldout show floor and increased attendance," said UP Media Group president Pete Waddell. "I'd like to thank our attendees, many of whom have supported PCB East since it was founded in 1996, and our exhibitors, who continue to recognize that PCB East is a must-attend annual event."
PCB East 2005 will be held Oct. 10-14 at the Radisson Hotel Manchester in Manchester, NH. For more information and to download the conference brochure visit www.pcbeast.com.
The 14th annual PCB Design Conference West takes place March 7-11 at the Santa Clara (CA) Convention Center. For more information, visit www.pcbwest.com.
Third quarter sales of handhelds fell 4.6% sequentially and 8.7% year-on-year, to 2.1 million units.
Market success will go to those that extend handheld devices into markets beyond core PIM functionality, such as GPS bundles, IDC said.
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