SCARBOROUGH, ON, CANADA -- Invotronics, a Toronto-area contract electronics assembler, is shutting its doors and will be sold at auction.

EL SEGUNDO, CA -- After reaching a worrisome high in the third quarter of 2012, global semiconductor inventories held by chip suppliers fell at a surprisingly fast rate in the fourth quarter, led by dramatic reductions for market leader Intel.

FRAMINGHAM, MA – A predicted surge of smaller, lower-priced devices in the tablet market has led International Data Corp. to increase its 2013 forecast for the worldwide tablet market to 190.9 million, up from its previous forecast of 172.4 million units.

EL SEGUNDO, CA -- The dynamic random access memory market overcame seasonal slowness and returned to growth in the final quarter of 2012, helped by the strong performance of SK Hynix after the South Korean supplier expanded to its largest market share ever, according to IHS iSuppli.

CAMPINAS, SP, BRAZIL -- Essemtec has opened a training center here, complementing the SMT equipment OEM's existing sales and support efforts.

SAN JOSE — Worldwide sales of semiconductor manufacturing equipment totaled $36.93 billion in 2012, down 15% year-over-year.

SANTA CLARA, CA — LCD TV panel manufacturers are planning less aggressive business strategies for 2013 as LCD TV demand growth slows, according to NPD DisplaySearch.

BANNOCKBURN, IL – The North American PCB Market Report, published this week by IPC, predicts 3.2% growth in the North American printed circuit board market in 2013.

MCLEAN, VA -- US manufacturing technology orders slid 12.2% from a year ago to $370.62 million in January according to AMT -- The Association For Manufacturing Technology.

TAIPEI -- Foxconn Electronics (Hon Hai) reported consolidated February revenues fell 25% sequentially and 22.1% year-over-year.

HIGH WYCOMBE, BUCKS, UK – Smart Group will present a webinar next month on auditing a surface mount production line.

WOBURN, MA – IQLP has opened a materials innovation laboratory here to focus on developing materials and processes for electronics and energy storage applications.