WASHINGTON – Seven microelectronics firms received nearly $10 million in combined funding to commercialize technologies of interest to the US military services as winners of the Defense Business Accelerator (DBX) Microelectronics Challenge. The initiative is funded by the Department of Defense (DoD) and led by the US Partnership for Assured Electronics (USPAE).

In November I was invited to join the “disruptors” of the industry – also known as Mark Goodwin and Gene Weiner – on a panel to discuss the derisking of the supply chain.

Against the backdrop of the biennial Productronica trade show, the largest of its kind for electronics manufacturing in the West, and hosted by my media colleague Trevor Galbraith, we attempted to delve into the issues at hand when it comes to ensuring supply chain resiliency.

As Goodwin, the chief operating officer of Ventec, correctly framed the situation, the vast majority of materials originate in Asia, particularly China, and while parts of the supply chain are being moved back to the West, a full-scale migration won’t happen in our lifetimes. Given that, what needs to happen at the margins to ensure at least a minimal degree of secure chains?

The role of government naturally came up, and it was suggested that legislators are driving reverse migration. I pushed back on that notion, opining instead that commercial businesses lead the way and governments are reacting both to the years-long industry impetus and the post-Covid realization that supply chains are not secure. (For more on that, see our interview with David Schild of the Printed Circuit Board Association of America in this issue.)

WASHINGTON – Global semiconductor industry sales totaled $46.6 billion in October, an increase of 3.9% compared to September's total of $44.9 billion but 0.7% less than the October 2022 total of $46.9 billion, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association.

PEACHTREE CITY, GA – The deadline for submissions for the 2024 New Product Introduction (NPI) Awards for electronics assembly equipment, materials and software suppliers is December 15, said Printed Circuit Engineering Association (PCEA).

STOCKHOLM – Hanza will acquire all shares in Orbit One, a Swedish company that offers contract manufacturing of electronics and electromechanics.

Icape Group has acquired Bordan Electronic Consult, a German company specializing in tailored technical component distribution.

EINDHOVEN, NETHERLANDS – VDL Groep has announced the acquisition of Rena Electronica, a Dutch manufacturer of smart electronics and LED lighting.

CHENNAI, INDIA – Foxconn and Pegatron are among the companies that have suspended their manufacturing operations in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu due to cyclonic conditions.

PEACHTREE CITY, GA – The Printed Circuit Engineering Association (PCEA) today issued a call for abstracts for the PCB West 2024 technical conference. The conference, the largest of its kind in Silicon Valley, focuses on training and best practices for printed circuit board design engineers, electronics design engineers, fabricators and assemblers.

SARASOTA, FL – Reshoring and foreign direct investment job announcements continued their record-breaking run in the first half of 2023, according to the Reshoring Initiative’s 1H 2023 Report.

MILPITAS, CA – Global semiconductor equipment billings contracted 11% year-over-year to $25.6 billion in the third quarter, while quarter-over-quarter billings slipped 1% during the same period, SEMI announced in its Worldwide Semiconductor Equipment Market Statistics (WWSEMS) Report.

NEEDHAM, MA – Worldwide smartphone shipments are forecast to see 7.3% year-over-year growth in the fourth quarter, according to IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker.