TAIPEI -- Foxconn's cellphone manufacturing business unit forecast a larger first-half loss on weaker demand and higher costs.

EL SEGUNDO – IHS iSuppli today upped its 2012 forecast for semiconductor growth to 4.3%, citing strong consumer demand for wireless products like cellphones and media tablets. The researchers warned that inventory levels must continue to come down, although progress has been made.

OSLO – Electronics manufacturing services firm Kitron reported first-quarter revenue of NOK 450.4 million, up 4.8% year-over-year.

EBIT was NOK 21.5 million, up nearly 94% compared to the same period last year. EBITDA was NOK 30.4 million, up 62% year-over-year.

Orders for the quarter were NOK 448.1 million, while the order backlog was NOK 797 million, up 9.2% and down 2.5% respectively.

Kitron ranked 45th on this year's CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY Top 50. 

NOK 1 = US$0.1744

TOKYO – DuPont-Toray has filed a lawsuit in Tokyo District Court against Ube Industries for allegedly infringing a Japanese patent related to formulation and properties of polyimide film used in chip-on-flex circuits.

In its court filing, DuPont-Toray alleges Ube has infringed patent no. 4777471 covering Kapton polyimide film.

The firm says Ube manufactured and sold polyimide film graded as UPILEX SGAV1.

VELDHOVEN, THE NETHERLANDS – Assembléon is transferring to a new CEO and management, one year after spinning off from Royal Philips.

ANGLETON, TX -- Benchmark Electronics today said first quarter net income fell 60% to $6 million, but the electronics manufacturing services provider said recovery continues at its flooded plants in Thailand.

BALVE, GERMANY – The Balver Zinn/Cobar Group has opened a new application and training center here.

This center is equipped with various assembly machines from related companies, including Seho, Ekra and Hakko.

The objective of the center is to support R & D activities, demonstrate processes, provide process support training, and root cause failure analysis for customer issues.

Training programs will take place in the IPC-qualified application part of the center; certified trainers will provide training courses such as hand soldering, DoE in soldering, and IPC training in accordance with J-STD-001E and IPC-A-610E.

For more information, visit www.balverzinn.com/ipc-training.html.

GLENVIEW, IL -- ITW reported revenues grew 6.4% year-over-year to $4.55 billion for its first quarter ended March 31.

ELKHART, IN -- CTS reported first-quarter net income fell by more than 50% to $2.3 million, from $5.1 million last year.

BANNOCKBURN, IL – Between 2011 and 2014, high-density interconnect board production is expected to grow 26% for companies that participated in IPC’s recent PCB Technology Trends study.

TORONTO -- Celestica reported net income rose 44% from last year to $43.2 million as the company's market diversification strategy paid dividends.

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND -- New academic research argues that Apple could bring back its manufacturing to the US and still earn billions each year, debunking the company's contention that the US is not competitive.