BANNOCKBURN, IL – “Global demand remains strong, but we are starting to see some early signs that demand might be slowing,” says Shawn DuBravac, Ph.D., chief economist, IPC, in the August Economic Outlook report. “Even with demand slowing, back orders remain high, and inventories remain low, which should keep manufacturers busy for the foreseeable future. Covid has become a sledgehammer to confidence.”

BREA, CA — Additive Circuits Technologies has acquired Bench 2 Bench Technologies, manufacturer of flexible PCBs for the medical device markets, for an undisclosed sum.

NEEDHAM, MA — Smartphone shipments are expected to grow 7.4% in 2021, reaching 1.37 billion units, followed by 3.4% growth in 2022 and 2023, respectively, according to International Data Corp. The 7.4% growth can be attributed to 13.8% growth from iOS devices, combined with 6.2% growth from Android.

NEEDHAM, MA – Global wearables shipments grew 32.3% year-over-year as volumes reached 114.2 million during the second quarter, according to International Data Corp. Despite early signs of slower consumer tech spending, purchases of wearable devices remained strong during the quarter as consumers once again ventured outdoors with the urge to track their health and activity.

SAN DIEGO – PCE-EDU announced a pair of upcoming classes for the Printed Circuit Engineering Professional curriculum, a new weeklong program on printed circuit engineering layout based on current technology trends.

SUZHOU, CHINA – Scanfil plans to expand its factory here, with an estimated investment of €6 million to more than double production space. The company expects to start construction in 2022.

KUALA LUMPUR – SKP Resources said fiscal first quarter revenue was up 29% to RM515 million (US$123.9 million) compared to the same period in 2020.

SINGAPORE – The US PC market grew 17% year-over-year in the second quarter, with total shipments of desktops, notebooks, tablets and workstations reaching 36.8 million units, according to Canalys.

SAINT-HERBLAIN, FRANCE – Lacroix Electronics posted second quarter revenue of €81.2 million (US$95.8 million), an increase of 79.9% year-over-year, due to a strong base effect in 2020, continuing softness in aeronautics in 2021, and procurement tensions generating price increases passed onto customers.

BANNOCKBURN, IL – Total North American EMS shipments in July were down 2.9% year-over-year, says IPC. Sequentially, July shipments fell 26.3%.

SON, THE NETHERLANDS – Neways Electronics reported net revenue for the first half of 2021 was €233.8 million (US$275 million), down 3.8% year-over-year.

BANNOCKBURN, IL — North American printed circuit board fabricators reported the 90-day moving average PCB orders in July were up 18.6% year-over-year and down 4.3% sequentially.