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BOSTON -- In a startling announcement, federal prosecutors in Massachusetts have filed charges against three Chinese citizens and two component distributors for conspiring to violate US law by exporting military products to China.

BANNOCKBURN, IL – IPC is urging its members to respond to Canada’s Chemical Management Plan’s proposal banning five rosin-containing substances from all products manufactured and sold there.

The trade group also submitted comments today to the Canadian Department of the Environment in advance of the Oct. 20 comment deadline.

Rosin is used in the manufacture of more than 75% of electronics products, including defense systems, telecommunication and transportation technologies, IPC noted.

A ban on rosin would make it difficult for electronics manufacturers to continue to do business in Canada, says IPC. In addition, consumers would likely foot the bill for the increased production cost because electronics manufacturers would have to engineer products specifically for the Canadian market. Even more likely, Canadian electronics manufacturers would consider moving operations to countries that do not ban the use of rosin, resulting in a loss of Canadian jobs, says the association.

According to Dr. Greg Munie, IPC technical director, rosins are naturally occurring materials that possess irreplaceable chemical and electrical properties qualities that ensure a reliable, safe and long-lasting product. There is no known chemical or combination of chemicals that can provide the same functionality and reliability of rosin. Therefore, eliminating rosin would force a change in the composition of soldering flux and solder paste that will ultimately affect the reliability of the final electronic product.

SAN JOSE – Worldwide sales of semiconductors in August were $19.1 billion, up 5% sequentially, the Semiconductor Industry Association reported today.

Sales were up sequentially in all geographic regions.

Sales declined 16.1% year-over-year.

Year-to-date sales through August were down 21.3% to $133.8 billion compared to the same time last year. The rate of decline has slowed from the first six months of 2009, during which sales declined 25% year-over-year.

All monthly sales numbers represent a three-month moving average of global semiconductor sales.

“Continuing recovery of consumer spending led the sixth-consecutive month of sequential growth in semiconductor sales,” said SIA president George Scalise. “Various incentive programs for energy-efficient products, ranging from automobiles to home appliances, have bolstered demand for semiconductors, which deliver critical enabling technology for reducing energy consumption.

“Growing sales of netbook personal computers, which now account for approximately 17% of notebook PC unit sales, have created an important new market segment, filling a gap between ‘smart cellphones’ and conventional laptop PCs,” Scalise continued. “Personal computers have become especially attractive to consumers, as average selling prices for PCs have declined by around 14%, while memory content has increased by 25% during the past year. This translates into significantly more computing power at a significantly lower price.”

Scalise noted that consumers now account for approximately 50% of all PC unit sales.

“Notwithstanding the slow recovery of demand from the enterprise sector, we are encouraged that industry momentum has turned positive following the steepest downturn in more than a decade,” Scalise concluded.