BANNOCKBURN, IL – June North American printed circuit board shipments decreased 6.6%, and orders dropped 2.7% year-over-year, says IPC.

BANNOCKBURN, IL – A PDF copy of the final draft for industry review of IPC-4903, A Guideline for Defining "Low-Halogen" Electronic Products, is available for review and comment.

SANTA CLARA – NPD DisplaySearch has lowered its second-quarter 2012 mobile phone forecast to 1.73 billion units from 1.92 billion units.

ANGLETON, TX – Contract manufacturer Benchmark Electronics reported second-quarter net income fell 6.7% year-over-year to $14 million.

EL SEGUNDO, CA -- Apple is not only the world’s leading semiconductor buyer, but the company also is increasing its buying at a faster rate than other top firms, says new research from IHS iSuppli.

SINGAPORE – Flextronics reported first-quarter net sales of $6 billion, down 20% year-over-year.

NEWBURYPORT, MA – Component remanufacturer Rochester Electronics has added more than 56 million finished semiconductor devices to its factory authorized inventory. 

CAMBRIDGE, MA – MIT Forum for Supply Chain Innovation has formed the Manufacturing Technology Advisory Board.

EAST FISHKILL, NY -- A longtime analyst predicts flat semiconductor sales growth this year, below the forecasts of some competing research firms.

WASHINGTON, DC -- The US Interagency Trade Enforcement Center formed this year has set its sights on six nations, one of which is China, according to reports.

BILLINGSTAD, NORWAY -- Kitron reported second-quarter earnings before interest and tax fell 23% from a year ago to 10.6 million krones.

GLENVIEW, IL -- Illinois Tool Works today reported second-quarter revenues at its Power Systems and Electronics segment increased 7.7% on improvement in its electronics assembly businesses.