SAN JOSE – North America-based semiconductor equipment manufacturers reported January orders of $1.54 billion, up 30.3% from last year, an industry trade group said.

While the numbers look good versus a year ago, the industry at that time was still coming out of a deep recession. The 90-day average bookings fell 2.9% from the revised December figures, said SEMI.

The book-to-bill ratio was 0.85, meaning that $85 worth of orders were received for every $100 worth of equipment shipped. It was the fourth straight month below 1.0, suggesting slower shipments ahead.

The 90-day average worldwide billings were $1.8 billion, up 2.5% from revised December levels and 88% from January 2010.

“Orders declined slightly although they remain well above January 2010 orders,” said Stanley T. Myers, president and CEO of SEMI.  “Industry spending remains solid at the start of the year and we are encouraged by the strength in capital expenditure plans announced over the past month.”

The SEMI book-to-bill is a ratio of three-month moving averages of worldwide bookings and billings for North American-based manufacturers. Billings and bookings figures are in millions of US dollars.

Register now for Virtual PCB, the industry's only live, fully interactive, Web-based conference and trade show for PCB engineers, designers, fabricators, assemblers and managers worldwide, March 8-9. www.virtual-pcb.com 

ALAMEDA, CA – A new paper presents findings on three small-to-medium-sized electronics manufacturing services firms and common themes for success.

Through interviews with Digicom Electronics, Nistec Group, and PartnerTech over a 15-year span, the paper shows how management has survived economic fluctuations, parts shortages, demanding customers, and an ever-broadening scope of services, while competing with companies leveraging low-wage regions, huge buying power, and economies of scale.

Technology Forecasters’ “Contract Electronic Manufacturers with Staying Power” is available at http://www.techforecasters.com/whitepapers/wp_tfi_lasting_cms.pdf.

Register now for Virtual PCB, the industry's only live, fully interactive, Web-based conference and trade show for PCB engineers, designers, fabricators, assemblers and managers worldwide, March 8-9. www.virtual-pcb.com

TEKIRDAG, TURKEY – Foxconn has launched production here to produce HP desktop PCs.

MILPITAS, CA – This week’s SEMA meeting here will address the evolving China photovoltaics model and its ramifications for the North American and European industries.

Matthew Holzman, president of SEMA, will present a technical assessment of the Chinese photovoltaic industry Mar. 3 at Flextronics, offering comparative data to help attendees understand the key differentiators in capital cost models, technology, manufacturing efficiency and quality practices.

RSVP to Jasbir Bath at jasbir.bath@solar-ema.org.

For more information about SEMA, visit www.solar-ema.org.

Register now for Virtual PCB, the industry's only live, fully interactive, Web-based conference and trade show for PCB engineers, designers, fabricators, assemblers and managers worldwide, March 8-9. www.virtual-pcb.com

KEMPELE, FINLAND -- PKC Group, a top 50 EMS company, has signed an agreement to purchase Segu's wire-harness companies in Germany, Poland and Ukraine.

LOS ANGELES – Industry analysts this week are providing disparate views on the current state of chip inventory.

BANGKOK – Electronics manufacturer SVI Public Company Ltd. reported fourth-quarter 2010 gross profit of $8.4 million, up 23% year-over-year, and up 11% sequentially.

KIRKLAND, QUEBEC – In a rebound from depressed 2009 levels, global demand for light vehicle original equipment manufacturer automotive electronics will advance 12.3% annually to $174 billion in 2014, says Electronics.ca Publications.

Beyond the expected recovery from the 2009 recession, automotive electronics demand will find uplift from increasing regulatory pressure and the continued search among automakers for cost-effective ways to differentiate their products.

Safety and security electronics will register the biggest increase through 2014, as more advanced safety features percolate down into mass market vehicles. Powertrain electronics will also experience strong demand, driven by stringent fuel economy and emissions standards in developed markets, particularly the US and Western Europe, according to Electronics.ca.

Communication and navigation electronics systems will see rapid increases, as more OEMs integrate these technologies into vehicles. Instrumentation and comfort, convenience and entertainment electronics will experience lower, but still attractive growth rates, as more emerging market players install these features into vehicles.

LAS VEGAS – The ERAI Executive Conference 2011 will be held here Apr. 28 and 29.

The conference will focus on performance requirements, counterfeit avoidance/identification and risk mitigation techniques. The event will provide a standards overview for SAE International’s AS5553, AS6081 and AS6171 that provide uniform requirements, practices and methods to mitigate the risks of purchasing and supplying counterfeit electronic parts.

Topics also include hedging liability/risk in the supply chain, onsite distributor assessments, current counterfeiting techniques and identification methodologies, contract language required to confiscate, quarantine and subsequently destroy counterfeit parts, government agency efforts to fight IP theft, and solutions to gather critical market intelligence.

For more information, visit http://www.erai.com/ERAI_EXECUTIVE_CONFERENCE_VEGAS_2011_public.aspx.

BUCKS, UK – SMART Group has announced upcoming technical webinars on micro-BGA assembly and developing an electronics inspection system.

In the first, micro-BGA reevaluates an existing manufacturing process, inspection and size control of different solder alloy spheres. It will provide example packages and demonstrate reliability through assembly and soldering trials within different industries. Topics include project overview, industry survey, micro-BGA requirements, solder alloy requirements, solder sphere manufacture, existing process and issues, and future industry benefits.

The second webinar concerns the development of an electronics system for inspecting welded joints in plastic pipes. It will cover the current objectives of the TestPEP project; an overview of the work program; the principles of phased array inspection, butt fusion welds, and electrofusion welds; and initial results.

To register for both, visit www.smartgroup.org/diary.

SMYRNA, GA – With two weeks to go, a record number of companies have signed up for the fourth annual VIRTUAL PCB online trade show, UP Media Group announced today.

ANTHEM, AZ – A new report describes 18 emerging countries in terms of their current readiness for electronics manufacturing.

The 80-page report, by Charlie Barnhart & Associates, characterizes the nations’ infrastructure, population and high-tech “readiness.” It provides an analytical framework to help midmarket OEMs and EMS companies assess opportunities and challenges in establishing or expanding their global footprint, says the author.

“Next Horizons in Electronics Manufacturing for Midmarket Companies,” which was authored by Jennifer Read, provides country profiles and recommendations for a successful global strategy.

The report is available to the consulting firm’s Outsourcing Navigator Council members, and includes country profiles on geographies, as well as EMS profiles, data charts related to infrastructure, population, electronics readiness, corruption, and ease of doing business. For more information, visit www.charliebarnhart.com.