SAN JOSE -- Sanmina-SCI swung to a fiscal fourth-quarter profit of $31 million on higher demand for communications and industrial products. The contract assembler lost $33 million a year ago.

SHENZHEN -- Nam Tai Electronics reported third-quarter net income of $7.6 million, up 68.9% from last year on higher sales.

JOHOR, MALAYSIA -- Flextronics' medical business unit will open a dedicated, 180,000 sq. ft. facility in Senai, the contract electronics assembler's second major expansion in a year.

SAN JOSE -- The 90-day moving average worldwide semiconductors sales reached $26.5 billion in September, up 2.9% sequentially and 6.1% year-over-year, the Semiconductor Industry Association reported today.

LOS ALTOS, CA – After a rare two-year drop in global communications equipment production, hardware OEMs are headed for a strong rebound this year.

BANNOCKBURN, IL – Several new topics and features have been incorporated into 2011 IPC International Technology Roadmap to provide data and comparisons between technologies and reliability.

The latest Roadmap, which is set to be published next spring, expands the regional analysis and comparisons. The substrate and assembly sections, for example, provide insight into the regional differences in capability between Asia, Europe and North America.

Another addition is the link of emulators to industry standards and specifications. A new section discusses changes needed in industry standards to make them relevant to tomorrow’s needs.

The committee invites anyone interested in joining the final meetings from November through January to contact JeanneCooney@ipc.org.

The roadmap will be unveiled at IPC Apex Expo in April.

SINGAPORE – Venture Corp. Ltd. reported revenue of $524.1 million for the quarter ended Sept. 30, up 3.7% sequentially.

BEIJING – China will reduce rare earth export quotas 30% next year to protect its precious metal supplies, the China Ministry of Commerce said.

China already cut 2010 production and export quotas 72% for the second half to 7,976 tons, based on ministry data.

If the current rate of production holds steady, medium and heavy rare earths reserves could dry up within 15 to 20 years, an anonymous spokesperson says, according to published reports. China produces 95% of the world supply.

Domestic deposits fell to 27 million tons by the end of last year, 30% of the world's total explored reserves, down 37.2% compared to levels in 1996. 

The US holds an estimated 15% of the world's reserves, but relies on imports.

TAIPEI – Hon Hai (Foxconn) posted third-quarter unconsolidated sales of $21.7 billion, up 72% year-over-year, say reports.

TAMIL NADU, INDIA -- Contract assembly firm Syrma Technology will expand its footprint outside Chennai, adding a 20,000 sq. ft. to its manufacturing site by year-end.