GUANGDONG PROVINCE, CHINA -- Are wages among factory workers in China about to rise? Reports from several news sources seem to indicate that a massive shortage of manpower coupled with modest inflation of the national currency will lead to higher costs for manufacturers later this year.
Global Sources this week said that inflation is ahead due to anticipated appreciation of the China's currency, the yuan, against the U.S. dollar. The timing is especially bad for the region, which has endured steady price inflation and flat wages. Local companies are facing persistent labor shortages and China has been recording more than 2 million vacancies annually, Global Sources said.
Separately, a report today said the local government is set to raise salaries for workers by 16.7%, to $70 a month.
SAN JOSE -- The 90-day moving average sales of North
American-based semiconductor equipment manufacturers was $1.24 billion in December, good for a book-to-bill of
0.95, according to SEMI.
For the month $95 worth of orders were received for
every $100 of product billed.
The three-month average of global bookings in December was $1.24 billion, down 7% from revised November figures but up 4.6% year-on-year.
Global billings were $1.31 billion, down 2.6% from November and up 36% percent from a year ago.
"Based on these preliminary figures, we now expect
worldwide sales of new semiconductor equipment by North American suppliers to
total $16.5 billion in 2004, an increase of more than 60% over the prior
year," said Stanley T. Myers, president and CEO of SEMI. "The cyclic
bookings peak occurred in June 2004 and total bookings in December are 23%
below that level."
SAN JOSE, Calif., January 20, 2005 -- North American-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $1.24 billion in orders in December 2004 (three-month average basis) and a book-to-bill ratio of 0.95 according to the December 2004 Book-to-Bill Report published today by SEMI. A book-to-bill of 0.95 means that $95 worth of orders were received for every $100 of product billed for the month.
The three-month average of worldwide bookings in December 2004 was $1.24 billion. The bookings figure is seven percent below the revised November 2004 level of $1.33 billion and 4.6 percent above the $1.18 billion in orders posted in December 2003.
The three-month average of worldwide billings in December 2004 was $1.31 billion. The billings figure is 2.6 percent below the revised November 2004 level and 36 percent above the December 2003 billings level of $963 million.
"Based on these preliminary figures, we now expect worldwide sales of new semiconductor equipment by North American suppliers to total $16.5 billion in 2004, an increase of more than 60 percent over the prior year," said Stanley T. Myers, president and CEO of SEMI. "The cyclic bookings peak occurred in June 2004 and total bookings in December are 23 percent below that level."
The SEMI book-to-bill is a ratio of three-month moving averages of worldwide bookings and billings for North American-based semiconductor equipment manufacturers. Billings and bookings figures are in millions of U.S. dollars.
SAN JOSE, Calif., January 20, 2005 -- North American-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $1.24 billion in orders in December 2004 (three-month average basis) and a book-to-bill ratio of 0.95 according to the December 2004 Book-to-Bill Report published today by SEMI. A book-to-bill of 0.95 means that $95 worth of orders were received for every $100 of product billed for the month.
The three-month average of worldwide bookings in December 2004 was $1.24 billion. The bookings figure is seven percent below the revised November 2004 level of $1.33 billion and 4.6 percent above the $1.18 billion in orders posted in December 2003.
The three-month average of worldwide billings in December 2004 was $1.31 billion. The billings figure is 2.6 percent below the revised November 2004 level and 36 percent above the December 2003 billings level of $963 million.
"Based on these preliminary figures, we now expect worldwide sales of new semiconductor equipment by North American suppliers to total $16.5 billion in 2004, an increase of more than 60 percent over the prior year," said Stanley T. Myers, president and CEO of SEMI. "The cyclic bookings peak occurred in June 2004 and total bookings in December are 23 percent below that level."
The SEMI book-to-bill is a ratio of three-month moving averages of worldwide bookings and billings for North American-based semiconductor equipment manufacturers. Billings and bookings figures are in millions of U.S. dollars.
SAN JOSE, Calif., January 20, 2005 -- North American-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $1.24 billion in orders in December 2004 (three-month average basis) and a book-to-bill ratio of 0.95 according to the December 2004 Book-to-Bill Report published today by SEMI. A book-to-bill of 0.95 means that $95 worth of orders were received for every $100 of product billed for the month.
The three-month average of worldwide bookings in December 2004 was $1.24 billion. The bookings figure is seven percent below the revised November 2004 level of $1.33 billion and 4.6 percent above the $1.18 billion in orders posted in December 2003.
The three-month average of worldwide billings in December 2004 was $1.31 billion. The billings figure is 2.6 percent below the revised November 2004 level and 36 percent above the December 2003 billings level of $963 million.
"Based on these preliminary figures, we now expect worldwide sales of new semiconductor equipment by North American suppliers to total $16.5 billion in 2004, an increase of more than 60 percent over the prior year," said Stanley T. Myers, president and CEO of SEMI. "The cyclic bookings peak occurred in June 2004 and total bookings in December are 23 percent below that level."
The SEMI book-to-bill is a ratio of three-month moving averages of worldwide bookings and billings for North American-based semiconductor equipment manufacturers. Billings and bookings figures are in millions of U.S. dollars.
SAN JOSE, Calif., January 20, 2005 -- North American-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $1.24 billion in orders in December 2004 (three-month average basis) and a book-to-bill ratio of 0.95 according to the December 2004 Book-to-Bill Report published today by SEMI. A book-to-bill of 0.95 means that $95 worth of orders were received for every $100 of product billed for the month.
The three-month average of worldwide bookings in December 2004 was $1.24 billion. The bookings figure is seven percent below the revised November 2004 level of $1.33 billion and 4.6 percent above the $1.18 billion in orders posted in December 2003.
The three-month average of worldwide billings in December 2004 was $1.31 billion. The billings figure is 2.6 percent below the revised November 2004 level and 36 percent above the December 2003 billings level of $963 million.
"Based on these preliminary figures, we now expect worldwide sales of new semiconductor equipment by North American suppliers to total $16.5 billion in 2004, an increase of more than 60 percent over the prior year," said Stanley T. Myers, president and CEO of SEMI. "The cyclic bookings peak occurred in June 2004 and total bookings in December are 23 percent below that level."
The SEMI book-to-bill is a ratio of three-month moving averages of worldwide bookings and billings for North American-based semiconductor equipment manufacturers. Billings and bookings figures are in millions of U.S. dollars.
SAN JOSE, Calif., January 20, 2005 -- North American-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $1.24 billion in orders in December 2004 (three-month average basis) and a book-to-bill ratio of 0.95 according to the December 2004 Book-to-Bill Report published today by SEMI. A book-to-bill of 0.95 means that $95 worth of orders were received for every $100 of product billed for the month.
The three-month average of worldwide bookings in December 2004 was $1.24 billion. The bookings figure is seven percent below the revised November 2004 level of $1.33 billion and 4.6 percent above the $1.18 billion in orders posted in December 2003.
The three-month average of worldwide billings in December 2004 was $1.31 billion. The billings figure is 2.6 percent below the revised November 2004 level and 36 percent above the December 2003 billings level of $963 million.
"Based on these preliminary figures, we now expect worldwide sales of new semiconductor equipment by North American suppliers to total $16.5 billion in 2004, an increase of more than 60 percent over the prior year," said Stanley T. Myers, president and CEO of SEMI. "The cyclic bookings peak occurred in June 2004 and total bookings in December are 23 percent below that level."
The SEMI book-to-bill is a ratio of three-month moving averages of worldwide bookings and billings for North American-based semiconductor equipment manufacturers. Billings and bookings figures are in millions of U.S. dollars.
Ten years ago, whether a consumer received audiovisual content via cable or satellite, the situation was homogenous: service providers allying with equipment vendors to ensure that access was provided only to those who paid for it. Today, NDS, Nagra, Irdeto take advantage of their existing relationships in DRM.
But now that group of traditional alliances has been joined by another: DRM vendors such as Microsoft, RealNetworks and Apple that work closely with the content-owning community to address the need for legal, downloadable materials that can be accessed through broadband networks. In time this channel will begin to become end-device agnostic.
These two camps, says director of broadband and residential entertainment technologies Vamsi Sistla, strive for the same goal -- the greatest number of consumers purchasing the rights they control -- but are approaching it from different directions.
Global DRM revenues will grow by at least 28% in 2005, Sistla forecasts, and the highest growth opportunities are among telcos, broadband, mobile and in portable markets. It is here, where DRM vendors partner with content owners and distributors, that the last decade's profound changes in global networking show their fullest impact.
Sullivan has had overall responsibility for the Electronic Products and Solutions Group, Agilent's largest business group. He was formerly senior vice president and general manager of Agilent's Semiconductor Products Group.
Barnholt is retiring as chairman, president and CEO of the company he helped launch following its spin-off from Hewlett-Packard in 1999.
"The past six years as Agilent's CEO have been rewarding ones for me," said Barnholt. "While I will miss this important part of my life, I look forward to what lies ahead."
James G. Cullen, who has served on the board of directors since 2000, will become non-executive chairman when Barnholt retires in March. At that time, Sullivan will join the board. Barnholt will stay on as chairman emeritus as long as needed to ensure a smooth transition.
Thin-film technologies continue to evolve and their use is broadening as component manufacturers are considering replacing conventional thick-film processes to manufacture smaller components and parts. Reason: thin-films permit new families of products, modifying and enhancing the properties of bulk material by the deposition of a top thin layer having different composition and morphology, says a new study from Business Communications Co.
Global sales of thin-film raw materials hit $7.1 billion in 2004, estimates say, and are projected to reach $13.5 billion by 2009, an average annual growth rate of 13.7%, BCC says.
Chemical deposition methods (chemical vapor deposition, chemical solution deposition, plating type methods) accounts for over 70% of the global market for thin-film raw materials, driven by large sales of plating chemicals. Electronics accounts for 66% of total sales.
Sales of thin-film materials for chemical processes increased during 2002-04 from $4.1 billion to $5.1 billion, and are expected to show an AAGR of 12.9% over the next five years, reaching $9.3 billion by 2009.
Raw materials for physical processes (evaporation, sputter deposition and ionic deposition) rose to 28.6% from 24.8% of the total market for thin-film materials from 2002-04. Sales are projected to reach $4.2 billion by 2009, an AAGR of 15.7%.
GREENVILLE, SC -- Kemet Corp. has filed a lawsuit against AVX Corp. to protect trade secrets relating to the development and manufacture of tantalum polymer capacitors. Kemet seeks damages and an injunction.
In the lawsuit, filed in South Carolina court, Kemet alleges that AVX had access to trade secrets after hiring a scientist from Kemet's technology group. The suit alleges that through this scientist, AVX learned certain trade secrets related to tantalum polymer capacitor manufacturing. AVX has since introduced similar products, Kemet said.
Kemet has produced the components since 1999, and they now constitute the fastest growing segment of this market.
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