News
According to IPC (Northbrook, IL), the North American IMS/PCB Industry book-to-bill ratio for May 2004 remained steady at 1.11.
The ratio is calculated by averaging the index numbers for orders booked over the past three months and dividing by the average index numbers for sales billed during the same period. A ratio of more than 1.00 suggests that current demand is ahead of supply, which indicates probable near-term growth.
Shipments increased 41.3% from May 2003 and orders booked increased 62.4%. Compared to last year, shipments of printed circuit boards are up 36.3% year-to-date, with bookings up 50.3%.
The shipment index was up 5.5% sequentially to 138.7 and the booking index was 168.8, up 23.8%.
The indices are calculated by setting the base year (1992) equal to 100 and then multiplying the monthly growth rates of the actual shipments and bookings by the corresponding index number. A shipment index number of 117.0, for example, indicates that shipments are 17% higher than average monthly shipments in 1992.
Based on "same store" data -- a measure of those companies that reported last year and this year -- PCB shipments grew 43.8% in May over last year, and orders jumped 67% year-on-year.
Copyright 2004, UP Media Group. All rights reserved.
- To obtain sufficient information through inspection activities at vendor and licensee/applicant facilities to assure part authenticity.
- To ensure that vendors are complying with the applicable industry requirements.
- To inform industry/vendors of instances involving substandard, suspected counterfeit or fraudulently marketed vendor products and to gather and provide timely information to system users.
- To assure that counterfeit and fraudulently marketed products are traced to their source and that system users are informed and alerted of possible suspected parts.
- To inform private and federal agencies of appropriate matters involving substandard products.
- To assure that system users' programs and their subsidiaries, as applicable, have an effective system for reporting counterfeit and fraudulently marketed products.
- To provide technical assistance to system users for identifying counterfeit and fraudulently marketed products.
According to a story in the San Diego Union-Tribune, business is looking up for maquiladora factories in Mexico. After surviving the loss of nearly 300,000 jobs nationwide, Mexico is reaping the benefits of U.S. economic recovery, with new and expanding manufacturing companies now seeking workers to fill 18,000 job openings.
The maquiladora program allows foreign manufacturers to ship components into Mexico duty-free for assembly and subsequent re-export. Industry established under the maquiladora program is Mexico's second largest source of foreign revenue (following oil exports).
According to the article, employers are increasing worker benefits and wages to fill the new demand for factory workers—with some companies even going door-to-door to find applicants.
Demand for engineers and technicians is especially high since many Mexican factories survived the economic downturn by turning to more sophisticated processes to manufacture advanced products in the electronics, automotive and medical industries.
The more sophisticated manufacturing activities mean higher salaries for qualified workers—with wages for engineers now reaching $20,000-$40,000 a year. Companies are struggling to find college graduates and other workers that they can educate for the newly available highly skilled positions.
While the electronics, automotive, aerospace and medical parts factories that seek the workers are unable to predict whether or how long the economic rebound will last, the companies understand the importance of recruiting and training workers now in the high-tech skills that are increasingly required.
Copyright 2004, UP Media Group. All rights reserved.
The Ultra 2800 DispensLink system from EFD (East Providence, RI) uses positive displacement technology to produce consistent, volumetric shots of epoxies, adhesives and many other assembly fluids—regardless of changes in fluid volume, viscosity or temperature.
The mechanical benchtop system operates on electricity and does not require the use of compressed air. It is ideal for applications that require precise metering of assembly fluids with changing viscosities, or where specific flow rates are necessary.
The patented technology uses a stepper motor and hydraulic cable to advance and retract a piston inside the fluid reservoir in precise increments. This results in consistent volumetric fluid deposits, without the need to adjust settings to compensate for changes in fluid characteristics.
EFD Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Nordson Corp., a producer of precision dispensing equipment. Nordson and EFD systems apply adhesives, sealants and other assembly fluids to a range of consumer and industrial products during manufacturing operations.
Copyright 2004, UP Media Group. All rights reserved.
Integrated Ideas & Technologies Inc. (IIT, Coeur d'Alene, ID) has developed an in-house laser cutting system that requires minimal training. The system offers manufacturers the ability to duplicate exact performance between facilities, regardless of location, and provides complete in-house control. An automated download program also allows the staff at IIT to help companies eliminate rework issues.
Assembly defects are expensive and avoidable, although many manufacturers accept rework as an unavoidable upshot of doing business. Customizing or improving surface-mount lines can now be done site, precluding the delay time associated with the remanufacturing of corrected or re-designed stencils by off-site suppliers.
IIT can now provide a user-friendly laser cutting system, without requiring a trained laser technician, stencil manufacturing staff or manufacturing support equipment.
IIT manufactures stencils required for circuit board manufacturing and serves contract manufacturers and original equipment manufacturerss in virtually every high-tech industry.
For more information, call (208) 665-2166.
Copyright 2004, UP Media Group. All rights reserved.
Electronics manufacturing services (EMS) provider Flextronics (Singapore) has signed an agreement with Nortel Networks (Brampton, Ontario, Canada) whereby Nortel will divest certain optical, wireless and enterprise manufacturing operations and optical design operations to Flextronics.
Subject to closing the four-year manufacturing agreement, Flextronics will assume most of Nortel Networks' systems integration activities, final assembly, testing and repair operations, along with the management of the related supply chain and suppliers. Over time, Flextronics expects to consolidate and internally source its vertically integrated supply chain solutions, which include the fabrication and assembly of printed circuit boards and enclosures, as well as logistics and repair services.
Through an optical design services agreement, Flextronics will acquire a group of engineers with expertise in end-to-end, carrier grade optical network products. The design and engineering skills to be transferred to Flextronics include hardware development, software development and project management.
"Flextronics will be acquiring a design group with broad experience in telecommunications and optical networks, with extensive knowledge of optical products and processes," said Michael Marks, chief executive officer of Flextronics. "There are no independent design companies in the world that have this degree of design expertise, so we are thrilled to have expanded the scope of our engagement with Nortel Networks to include these services...We believe hardware design, software design and manufacturing are converging, which makes the addition of the Nortel Networks design group an excellent fit with our long-term strategy."
Mike McNamara, chief operating officer of Flextronics, said, "The significant increase in complex, multi-technology telecom and network solutions, including carrier grade products, further diversifies our product mix and reduces seasonality. The expertise acquired from the Nortel Networks' operations will enhance the capabilities in our Industrial Parks in China, Poland, Mexico and Brazil."
As part of the transaction, approximately 2,500 employees would transfer to Flextronics. The business transfer to Flextronics is expected to begin in November 2004 and will take approximately six months to complete. During this time, Flextronics' revenues from Nortel will increase each quarter and should reach an annual revenue rate of approximately $2.5 billion.
Copyright 2004, UP Media Group. All rights reserved.
Press Releases
- FlashPCB Expands into New Facility, Enhancing Manufacturing Capabilities
- FlashPCB Expands into New Facility, Enhancing Manufacturing Capabilities
- Evolve Manufacturing to Strengthen Supply Chain and Advance Medical Device Quality
- Federal Electronics Expands Advanced Manufacturing Capabilities with New Class 10,000 Cleanroom