LOS ALTOS, CA - China's appetite for energy coupled with decisions by leading oil producers not to raise output will inflate energy costs and slow global GDP growth, according to the latest economic report by Henderson Ventures.

The research firm forecasts GDP growth to slow to 3% in 2006, from 4% in 2004, and then rebound to 3.6% in 2007.

Electronics equipment markets are expected to follow suit, Henderson said.

"This year, consumer outlays will be stoked by demand for mobile telephones, flat-screen TVs, low-end PCs and iPods. Increasing per-vehicle content will help automotive electronics manufacturers to achieve respectable growth," Henderson said.

Businesses will spike IT equipment buys, and military electronics will see "muscular gains," largely in the U.S., Henderson said.

Global electronics equipment production is forecast to grow 7.1% percent this year, down from 10.3% in 2004. 2006 and 2007 growth will be 5.6% and 7.7%, respectively, Henderson forecasts.

VANCOUVER, CANADA  - Nam Tai Electronics reported a record $156 million in sales for the first quarter of 2005, an increase of 64% over 2004. The growth exceeded the EMS provider's upper sales guidance of $155 million.

"Nam Tai's first quarter sales typically are seasonally the lowest due to a long holiday in China with the shortest working days and after the peak season of Christmas sales," said Nam Tai's CEO Joseph Li.

""The substantial growth in sales was mainly attributable to our new expanded production capacity resulting from construction which has completed ahead of the schedule. Based on continuous sales orders from existing customers and positive feedback from potential customers, we are optimistic and confident that our growth momentum will continue into the second quarter and onward in 2005."

Nam Tai Electronics manufactures electronics components and subassemblies, and finished products, including cellular phones and PDAs.

BANNOCKBURN, IL - The 90-day moving average shipments of all types of circuit boards rose 0.9% year-on-year in February, according to the latest poll of U.S. PCB fabricators. Bookings fell 34.1%, however, due to seasonality.

A large percentage of the production includes boards built offshore and distributed by North American vendors. According to IPC, which takes the poll, 33% of the shipments reported were produced offshore, down two points from January.

The domestic book-to-bill ratio was flat at 1.08, the third month in a row the key indicator was above 1.0. The ratio is based on data collected by IPC from rigid and flex producers and is calculated by dividing three months worth of orders by sales. A ratio over 1.0 is considered an indicator of rising demand.

Separately, the ratios were 1.04 for rigid PCBs, up 0.04 points, and 1.23 for flexible circuits, down 0.13 points.

Rigid board shipments, estimated by IPC to make up 75% of all domestic PCBs, were down 3.2% in February vs. a year ago. Bookings were down 9.8% for the month. Flex sales grew 21.2%, but bookings fell 105%.

Year-to-date flex bookings are down 26.2% and shipments are up 33.8%. Rigid shipments are down 1.8% and bookings are off 6%. Shipments of all boards are up 4.3% and bookings are down 10.1%.

Sequentially, combined shipments were up 5.1% over January, while bookings were 28.3% lower percent. Rigid shipments were up 11.2% and bookings climbed 4.5% sequentially. Flex shipments were down 13.9% and bookings were down 104.7%.

Domestic production accounted for 74% of rigid and 37% of flex circuit shipments in January, IPC said.

Flex sales include some value-added services in addition to the bare flex circuits.

In a statement, IPC cautioned that month-to-month comparisons should be made with caution as they may reflect cyclical effects.

CHICAGO -- Connector prices are expected to fall over the next six months, according to a poll of purchasers and engineers.

No data on the number of persons polled or the margin of error was released. The monthly poll is conducted by ConnectorSupplier.com.

According to the poll, 37.6% of respondents feel prices will stay the same over the next six months, while 33.3% of respondents feel prices will decline slightly. A quarter of respondents - 25.8% - believe prices will increase slightly.  About 31% of respondents felt prices declined slightly over the past six months, while 20.4% felt they rose slightly.

Lead times are expected to stay more or less the same over the next six months, the respondents say. Over 68% said they expect no change in lead time. About 20% said they expect lead times to increase slightly. The average lead time as of February was 4.8 weeks, according to those polled.

ConnectorSupplier.com is run by Bishop & Associates, a consulting firm for the connector industry.