TEMPE, AZ — Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in January for the second consecutive month, and the overall economy grew for the 44th consecutive month, according to the latest ISM data.

MUNICH – X-ray inspection OEM MatriX Technologies has established a new production and service subsidiary in Singapore.

BANNOCKBURN, IL – North American printed circuit board shipments in December were down 14.5%, and orders decreased 7.5% year-over-year, says IPC.

SANTA CLARA, CA – Shipments of TFT-LCDs used in automobiles for devices such as navigation and rear seat DVD players increased 16% year-over-year to 49 million in 2012, says NPD DisplaySearch.

BANNOCKBURN, IL – IPC has released the C revision of IPC-7095, Design and Assembly Process Implementation for BGAs.

SAN ANTONIO – The Indian electronics industry is expected to reach $94 billion in 2015, increasing annually about 10%, according to Frost & Sullivan.

HERTFORDSHIRE, UK -- Soldertec in March will host a two-day conference on solder technology, featuring speakers from industry and government.

CREEDMOOR, NC -- Flextronics will close its electronics assembly factory here and lay off 157 employees by the end of the first quarter.

TOKYO -- Omron today reported revenues for its Industrial Automation Group are down 6.5% through the first three quarters of its fiscal year. The unit includes the company's electronics AOI development group.

DANDERYD, SWEDEN -- Lifco has withdrawn its offer to acquire EMS firm NOTE after failing to gain even a majority of the EMS firm's shareholder votes.

SPOKANE VALLEY, WA -- Key Tronic today said net income for its fiscal second quarter was $3.6 million, up 13% from 2012.

PHOENIX -- Assembly Plus, a low-volume contract assembler based here, has closed and will be sold at auction.