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News

NEW YORK -- Asia’s peak shipping season kicked off with pilot strikes, rate increases and reports of tight space conditions in some areas, particularly in regions that route cargo through transit hubs.

A strike by Polar Air Cargo pilots is expected to last through the peak season and cut freighter capacity out of Shanghai, Hong Kong, Japan and Korea, said Trans Global Logistics USA, a major freight forwarder. Japan Airlines and Asiana immediately imposed rate increases after the strike was announced Sept. 16. The full impact of the strike is expected to hit toward the end of the month, TGL said.

Carriers are also hiking fuel surcharges by as much as 67 cents per kilogram.

Furthermore, there is typically a surge in air freight prior to the Chinese National Holiday celebration, which runs from Oct. 1-7. Shanghai and Hong Kong are among the areas expected to feel the brunt of peak season traffic, particularly due to high volumes of electronics goods. TGL advised allowing an extra one or two days of transit time for freight routing through Asian transit hubs because of congestion.

ST. PETERSBURG, FL -- Jabil Circuit Inc. yesterday reported net earnings rose 59% on a 25% jump in sales for its fiscal fourth quarter. Jabil, a top-tier electronics manufacturing services provider, said net income was $70.5 million, in the August quarter, and revenue was $2.04 billion.

SANTA BARBARA, CA -- A California nanotech firm has launched an RoHS-compliant solution to printed circuit board failure.

Proprietary technology from Interface Sciences Corp. uses dense molecular arrangement on the nanoscale in addition to the use of unconventional molecules.

Dr. Damon Brink, ISC's chief science and technology officer said, the concept "leads to a stronger, more reliable product at a fraction of the cost, while enabling low-cost resin and material systems to be used in high-performance boards assembled with lead-free solder."

The firm said the solution mediates problems stemming from the use of lead-free solders.

Interface Sciences is an early-stage nanotechnology commercialization company holding platform technologies that were developed by a major government laboratory. The company's emphasis is on materials and surface innovation at the nanoscale.

PHOENIX -- Suntron Corp., the EMS supplier, today announced that its application to transfer its stock listing to the Nasdaq SmallCap Market has been accepted. The company will be traded under the ticker name SUNN.

GREENVILLE, SC -- Kemet Corp. and Taiyo Yuden will cross-market each other's lines of passive components, furthering the longstanding relationship between the two companies.

In a statement released today, the firms said pricing will be "independent and competitive," a possible nod to anti-trust laws.

SAN JOSE -- The 90-day moving average orders of North American-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment was $1.12 billion, up 11% from July and good for a book-to-bill ratio of 1.05.

The 90-day average of worldwide billings was $1.07 billion, down 1% sequentially and 29% from a year ago,
according to the trade group SEMI.

WASHINGTON -- The head of the electronics industry's leading trade group, Dave McCurdy, this month asked Congress for consistent regulatory definitions of key recycling terms and a strict definition of the scope of covered products.

In remarks to the House subcommittee on environment and hazardous materials, McCurdy said it is "critical" that the primary driver is the marketplace, and "not broad mandates and increased regulation."

WASHINGTON– The U.S. tech sector added nearly 190,000 jobs over the past 18 months, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Between January 2004 and June 2005, employment in the tech sector reached 5.72 million, up 3.4% during that time.

SHEFFIELD, UK - Jennic, a fabless semiconductor company, has purchased an Agilent RF IC tester. The equipment will be installed at its Sheffield headquarters.

Jennic is expected to use the 93000 SoC series tester for product validation and multi-site test development for its JN5121 IEEE802.15.4 wireless microcontroller.

The acquisition of the tester is considered to be a first for a UK fabless semiconductor company.

In a statement, Paul Wells, VP of manufacturing at Jennic, said, "In order to meet volume delivery requirements for our single chip low power wireless microcontroller, we need to ensure we have the right manufacturing infrastructure. By making major investments in a state-of-the-art tester and establishing strong relationships with world class suppliers, we are able to source large volumes of high quality products for our customers."

NEW YORK -- Semiconductor customers will continue to increase consumption of multichip devices and PLDs over the next 12 months, suggests a recent survey of purchasing managers.

Investment bank SG Cowen said today that its poll of 250 procurement specialists provides "multi-year empirical data ... and serves as an important, independent validation."

The firm said 65% of participants expect year-over-year gains in purchases of chipset solutions and reference designs in the next 12 months. This is an increase from each of SG Cowen's three prior surveys, conducted in last February, October 2004 and July 2003.

Thirty-two percent of participants expect to increase purchases of PLDs within the next 12 months. This is unchanged from February but up 10 points from the July 2003 survey.

BERG, SWITZERLAND -- Alphasem Co. Ltd. has relocated its die-attach operations in China from Shenzhen to a larger premises in Suzhou.

The company, also makes die sort systems for semiconductor production, generates about 75% of its sales in Asia. The company founded the subsidiary three years ago, in Shenzhen.

The Suzhou plant will employ 30 workers, a number which the company said will increase significantly in the future.

STRATHAM, NH – Vitronics Soltec has named Erik Tobiason president, replacing Jeroen Schmits, who was named head of Universal Instruments last month.

Vitronics and Universal are subsidiaries of Dover Technologies. Tobiason was president of Graphics Microsystems Inc., also a Dover Corp. subsidiary.