When it comes to the monthly editorial content in PCD&F/CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY, we typically don't do "themes."

So it's a matter of randomness and luck that we have not one, not two, but three pieces this month related to electronics thermal management and cooling. Fitting, too, being the month of June is, for the Western Hemisphere at least, on average the warmest of the year to date.

But June is also the month of the most significant trade show in the bare board fabrication industry: The JPCA Show in Tokyo. Regrettably, few Westerners will attend. It's too bad.

We are seeing significant interest at all levels – technical, management, and even political – at beefing up domestic printed circuit board capabilities. In particular, the West is attempting to make up for decades of failed progress with new investments in IC substrate production.

SAINT-HERBLAIN, FRANCE – Lacroix has partially restarted production at its plants in France, Germany and Tunisia after they were disrupted by a cyberattack in mid-May. The company expects production to return to normal after a gradual ramp-up.

NEEDHAM, MA – According to a new forecast from the IDC Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, global shipments of smartphones will decline 3.2% in 2023, totaling 1.17 billion units for the year.

NEEDHAM, MA – Worldwide shipments of hardcopy peripherals grew 2.2% year over year to 22.8 million units in the first quarter. Shipment value also expanded 14% year over year during the quarter to $11 billion, according to new data from the International Data Corporation Worldwide Quarterly Hardcopy Peripherals Tracker.