WASHINGTON, DC — The 90-day average sales of semiconductors worldwide rose 3.2% year-over-year in July and seasonal demand brings hope for further growth, the Semiconductor Industry Association said.

IVYLAND, PA -- Da-Tech Corp. has acquired the assets of fellow EMS company Synchronized Manufacturing Technologies.

HELSINKI – Finnish electronics manufacturer Elcoteq said its three subsidiaries have filed for bankruptcy.

BURNSVILLE, MN – Vapor phase manufacturer R&D Technical Services said today that it has relocated to a new manufacturing facility here, about one mile from its previous location. 

The firm says the facility enables them to create better manufacturing flow for production and respond more efficiently to customers’ needs.

R&D signed a lease that will save them nearly 30% on the firm’s annual rate, says president David Suihkonen.

R&D provides equipment for SMT reflow, Pb-free reflow, curing, drying, mechanical attachment and plastic package testing.

TEMPE, AZ – Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in August for the 25th consecutive month, says the Institute for Supply Management.

The August PMI fell a slight 0.3 percentage point to 50.6%. New orders were 49.6%, up 0.4 percentage point. Production dropped 3.7 points to 48.6%, and inventories rose 3 points to 52.3%. Customer inventories were up 2.5 points to 46.5%, while backlogs increased 1 percentage point to 46%.

“The PMI registered 50.6%, a decrease of 0.3 percentage point from July, indicating expansion in the manufacturing sector for the 25th consecutive month, at a slightly slower rate. The production index registered 48.6%, indicating contraction for the first time since May of 2009, when it registered 45%. The new orders and backlog of orders indexes edged up slightly from July, but both indexes are indicating contraction in August at slower rates than in July. The rate of increase in prices slowed for the fourth consecutive month, dropping another 3.5 percentage points in August to 55.5%. The overall sentiment is one of concern and caution over the domestic and international economic environment, which is affecting customers' confidence and willingness to place orders, at least in the short term,” said Bradley J. Holcomb, chair of ISM.

The overall economy grew for the 27th consecutive month, the firm says.

ARLINGTON, VA – Jedec Solid State Technology Association has published release 4 of the DDR3 serial presence detect document.

The updated specifications support three new memory module types, and are now available for free download at http://www.jedec.org/sites/default/files/docs/4_01_02_11R21A.pdf.

The JC-45 Committee for Memory Modules developed the SPD specification in conjunction with the development of the new module types, with the objective of enabling performance optimizations based on the characteristics of the DDR3 memories used on each module. 

“This release of the DDR3 SPD specification adds support for load reduction DIMMs used in high-end computing platforms and also for 16b-SO-DIMMs and 32b-SO-DIMMs used for embedded applications such as printers,” said Mian Quddus, chairman of Jedec's JC-45 Committee for DRAM Modules.

Modules using the new parameters in DDR3 SPD document release 4 will be released by manufacturers in the next year, Jedec says.

EL SEGUNDO – Shipments of small- and medium-sized panels – panels sized 1" to 9.x" – climbed slightly in June to 188.5 million units, up 1% sequentially, says IHS iSuppli. This marked the first sequential monthly increase since March.

Despite a small rise in shipments driven by demand for smartphones and tablets, the worldwide market for SMD panels is continuing to struggle with overall weak sales in the third quarter, the firm says.

“SMD panel shipments increased slightly in June because of continued strong demand among panel buyers for their smartphone and tablet lines, two products that remain popular among consumers,” said Vinita Jakhanwal, director for small and medium displays at IHS. “Panel buyers also are stocking up to keep inventories at reasonably adequate levels to meet demand for the third quarter and during the run-up to the holiday season. However, outside of the smartphone and tablet segments, the SMD panel market is being dogged by overall soft demand. Economic troubles in the US and European markets have dampened consumer appetite for many electronic items in which these panels are utilized, while a government crackdown on illegal handsets in China is stifling SMD demand there.”

Amid strong demand, pricing for SMD panels for tablets is remaining high. Tablet prices in the third quarter for 7" and 9.7" panels will average $53 and $65 respectively.

In contrast, prices are declining for SMDs used in digital still cameras and personal navigation devices, as demand decreases.

Among SMD panel manufacturers, fab utilization rates for the Taiwanese will average 61% in the third quarter, up from 55% at the end of June. Utilization rates are much higher among the Koreans, remaining at full capacity for LG Display and at 85% for Samsung Mobile Display.

SAN JOSE – California-based Presto Engineering said it would establish an Israeli branch to provide engineering services for high-tech printed circuit board firms. 

The Israeli branch will specialize in high-speed radio frequency PCBs, say published reports.

Moshe Zalcberg, former CEO of Cadence Israel, is heading up this effort, which involves opening a sales center and service lab that will focus mostly on Israeli startup firms in the late stages of product development.

Locations Herzliya and Zalcberg are currently hiring 15 employees.

Presto also has two facilities in France.

SAN JOSE – Electronics manufacturing services provider SMTC Corp. today said it has agreed to acquire the outstanding shares of EMS firm ZF Array Technology, with operations here and in China.

BANNOCKBURN, IL – North American printed circuit board shipments in July fell 12.1% year-over-year, says IPC. Orders decreased 16% compared to July 2010.

BEIJING – Environmental groups have published a report criticizing Apple’s supply chain in China for alleged environmental pollution.

EL SEGUNDO, CA — DRAM inventories have spiked, and a predicted 16% rise in shipments during the current period will further aggravate pricing pressure for the foreseeable future, a leading research firm said.