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SCOTTSDALE, AZ – The final two quarters of 2009 are forecast to bring a sharp uptick in wafer fab capacity utilization, reaching levels not seen since the third quarter of last year, says IC Insights.
While the IC capacity utilization rate stayed around 90% in 2007 and through the first three quarters of 2008, the economy dropped in the fourth quarter, dragging utilization rates down to 68%, says the firm.
IC Insights noted IC capacity utilization reached a low of 57% in the first quarter, rebounding 21 points to 78% in the following quarter, as OEMs began replenishing inventory. The firm expects industry capacity utilization to increase another 10 points to 88% in the third quarter.
"Though not sinking to the all-time annual low rate of 71.2% in 2001, IC Insights expects the average IC industry capacity rate for the entire global recession year of 2009 to drop to 77.4%," Bill McClean, president of IC Insights, said.
"Strengthening IC capacity utilization rates due to the tremendous capital spending cutbacks in 2008 and 2009 will cause IC ASPs to rebound, with annual increases of 5% forecast between 2010 and 2012," he concluded.
IC Insights’ report follows a SEMI forecast of 64% year-over-year growth in fab spending in 2010. According to SEMI, the overall utilization rate is expected to lag at 70% to 80% by the end of 2009.
EL SEGUNDO, CA -- Global LCD TV shipments rose 14.1% sequentially in the second quarter to 30.7 million units, iSuppli Corp. said.
ELK GROVE VILLAGE, IL -- SigmaTron International today reported revenues fell 32% from a year ago to $26.3 million for its fiscal 2010 first quarter.
IRVINE, CA – The US Patent and Trademark Office has allowed a patent covering Henkel Corp.’s Ablestik Self-Filleting die-attach products and controlled flow technique.
The patent broadly discloses the parameters of the process required to achieve a bondline fillet, using die attach paste materials. It covers a method for attaching a semiconductor die to a substrate or to another die in a stacked arrangement.
The method comprises dispensing an adhesive between the die and the substrate, or between two dies, and subjecting the adhesive to conditions suitable to cure the adhesive. With a controlled flow technique, bondlines as thin as 10 µm have been achieved and can be modified based on application-specific requirements.
DOUARNENEZ, FRANCE -- Asteel, the world's 13th largest EMS company, liquidated its plant here last week and laid off 134 workers, according to published reports.
STOCKHOLM – EMS firm Orbit One AB has acquired an 85% stake in EMS provider Wega Electronics.
No financial terms were disclosed.
The deal, which includes Wega’s factory in Prabuty, Poland, gives Orbit One four manufacturing sites, including two in Sweden and one in Russia.
Wega CEO Grzegorz Kohls holds the remaining 15% stake in the company, which will change its name to Orbit One.
Orbit One had sales of about $23 million last year, according to the CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY Directory of EMS Companies.
SAN JOSE – A recent survey of nearly 300 electronics supply-chain workers found respondents are slightly more optimistic than they were in April.
While most respondents view the current market situation as they did in April, respondents were slightly more optimistic regarding the future, says Venture Outsource, which with IDC conducted the survey.
The survey’s Current Index showed 4.6 out of 10, the same as four months ago, while the Future Index was 5.1 out of 10, 5% higher than in April. This indicates a meaningful increase in optimism about the future, says Venture Outsource; yet there is no sign of irrational exuberance, or even a serious recovery, before the end of 2009, says the firm.
Half the respondents identified themselves as “key decision makers” in their firms, up from 11% in a first-quarter survey. Respondents who “participate in decision making” remained about constant, at 37%. Respondents with a “view into decision making” made up a smaller proportion of respondents, at just 13%, down from 18% in April.
According to the survey results, the downturn is widely felt, with little variation by end-market or company type. Exceptions were component manufacturers and electronics equipment manufacturers, which reported lower scores on average than their supply-chain counterparts.
Respondents were most pessimistic regarding the economic and employment situation, with average scores of 3.9 and 4.3 out of 10, respectively. These scores were slightly worse than April.
“Feelings about the future economic situation are up nearly 9% from our last survey. In the end, though, these results show a belief that business will improve, but we believe that an actual broad-based expansion of business activity is not expected across the electronics supply chain in the next one or two quarters,” said Venture Outsource.
For complete results, visit http://www.ventureoutsource.com/contract-manufacturing/trends-observations/2009/bumping-along-the-bottom-electronics-supply-chain-summer-09-survey-results.
SOUTHFIELD, MI – A project team made up of Chrysler, Ford and General Motors has developed a process to help automotive suppliers remove lead-based solder from electronics components used in vehicles.
NEW YORK -- Electronic manufacturing services revenues in Europe are forecast to decline 13% this year, according to a new report.
LAKE FOREST, CA -- EMS firm Probe Manufacturing is betting its future on its past. The company is returning its cofounder to the chief executive's chair, bringing Kam Mahdi back to the position he held from 1996 to 2005.
