SCOTTSDALE, AZ – IC Insights has raised its expectations for 2018 capital spending by six percentage points to a 14% increase. If this occurs, it would be the first time semiconductor industry capital outlays exceeded $100 billion. The worldwide 2018 capital spending forecast figure is 53% higher than 2016 spending.

WESTLAKE, OH – Nordson reported fiscal second quarter net sales of $553.7 million, up 11.6% year-over-year.

SAN JOSE, CA – Power Design Services (PDS) and Green Circuits announced a merger agreement, effective May 21. Financial and other terms were not disclosed.

SHANGHAI -- Some 16 companies, including Foxconn and China Telecom, announced their backing of the 5G industry alliance, announced yesterday here.

JASPER, IN -- Kimball Electronics announced today that it has signed an agreement to purchase substantially all of the assets and assume certain liabilities of GES Holdings, Global Equipment Services and Manufacturing, and its subsidiaries for approximately $50 million plus assumed liabilities, subject to certain post-closing working capital adjustments.

HORSHAM, PA -- Aegis Software and CalcuQuote have partnered to integrate their respective MES and RFQ software, allowing manufacturers to respond faster to changing customer and market demands, resulting in increased efficiency for their business operations and consistently satisfied customers.

BANNOCKBURN, IL – IPC announced its annual US lobbying event, IMPACT Washington D.C., will take place May 21-23. 

FARMINGDALE, NY -- Cemtrex announced fiscal second quarter consolidated net sales fell 32% year-over-year to $20.6 million.

LOUISVILLE, KY -- Sypris Solutions said revenue at its electronics unit was flat at $5.4 million in the first quarter compared to the prior year-period.

HAMPSHIRE, UK -- Increasing smart security adoption will drive home automation and monitoring revenues from an estimated $12 billion in 2018 to over $45 billion by 2023, a jump of over 260%, says a new study from Juniper Research.

BANNOCKBURN, IL – The chief executive of IPC has submitted comments to the US Trade Representative decrying the potential impact of proposed tariff rate increases on Chinese imports to US businesses.

NEWARK, NY -- The state of New York has pledged $5 million in aid to IEC Electronics, which will in turn create over 360 local jobs over the next five years at its new plant here.