ATLANTA – On Oct. 4, from 2 to 3 pm, veteran electronics supply chain analyst Charlie Barnhart returns to discuss trends in the OEM-EMS relationship, onshoring/nearshoring, and the latest Outsourcing Navigator Council reports.

HUNT VALLEY, MD -- Chesapeake Manufacturing, a contract electronics assembler located here, has closed and will be auctioned.

SAN JOSE -- Second quarter sales of electronic design automation software and services rose 10.8% year-over-year on higher demand for computer-aided engineering and IC design tools.

TEMPE, AZ -- US manufacturing executives reported business rose in September following three consecutive months of slight contraction. The overall economy grew for the 40th consecutive month, the Institute for Supply Management added.

PALMDALE, CA -- EMS firm Senior Systems Technology has been shuttered and its assets will be sold auction to pay creditors, the company indicated.

BANNOCKBURN, IL – Effective today, Raymond Foo has joined the IPC staff as the Southeast Asia representative, working from Bangkok.

CHARLOTTE, NC – Camstar Systems has launched a global manufacturing workshop and plant tour series to demonstrate productivity through MES tools.

LOS ALTOS, CA -- Global electronics hardware output will rise a tepid 0.3% this year, but will improve through 2016, an industry analyst forecasts.

EL SEGUNDO, CA -- A year after the Thailand flooding disaster partially derailed production, the global hard disk drive industry has fully recovered, with shipments to the computer market expected to hit a record level this year, driven by the enterprise market as well as the arrival of the Windows 8 operating system.

BANNOCKBURN, IL – North American printed circuit board shipments and orders in August were both flat compared to August 2011, says IPC.

BILLINGSTAD, NORWAY -- Kitron has received more than $12 million in orders from Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace for military communications equipment.

HONG KONG -- Surface Mount Technology (Holdings) Ltd. has sold its surface mount equipment in Guangdong for HK$16.3 million ($2.1 million) via a tender offer.