TAMPA, FL – Moisture is the bane of the circuit board, and millions of dollars are spent on packaging materials each year to keep parts dry. But while components can be packaged and handled in trays, standard practice remains to treat each PCB as an individual unit, storing them with silica gel desiccant bags to soak up unwanted moisture.

WESTWOOD, MA – Chase Corp. reported quarterly sales volume fell in its electronic and industrial coatings product line due to a slowdown in Asian markets. Overall fiscal first quarter revenue decreased 8% year-over-year to $66.8 million, the firm said.

ATLANTA, GA – UP Media Group today announced dates for its popular PCB2Day workshop series for spring 2020.

CAMBRIDGE, UK – The augmented, virtual and mixed reality market will top $30 billion by 2030, according to IDTechEx Research.

HERTFORDSHIRE, UK – Almost half the population living in the US, UK, France and Germany now owns a smart home device, up from one-in-three a year ago, according to Futuresource Consulting.

BERWYN, PA – Ametek is selling Reading Alloys to Kymera International for $250 million, according to reports.

TAIPEI – Foxconn reported consolidated revenues of NT$539.5 billion (US$17.8 billion) for December, down 12.9% year-over-year and 10.5% sequentially.

SOUTHAMPTON, PA – Effective Jan. 1, IMET Electronics merged with TJM Electronics. The companies are now under the TJM Electronics brand.

NEVADA CITY, CA – The global market for IC packaging grew by double digits in 2018 but increased 3% in 2019, as the overall IC devices market declined 3.7%, according to New Venture Research.

MAHARASHTRA, INDIA – Foxconn will not set up its manufacturing units here, according to reports, while the firm resolves issues with proposed investments worth ₹30,000 crore (crore = 10 million).

FRAMINGHAM, MA – Worldwide spending on robotics systems and drones will be $128.7 billion in 2020, an increase of 17.1% over 2019, according to IDC.

WASHINGTON — The 90-day moving average sales of semiconductors worldwide fell 10.8% year-over-year to $36.7 billion in November.