Internepcon World Japan 2003 (Jan. 22-24)

Year 2003

Calendar of events

Clouds Still Blanket North America & Europe, But Some Clearing Is Evident (Nov 2002)

Computers

TPCA Show 2002 (Oct. 31-Nov. 2)

Singapore and the USA - Both Face Challenges (Oct. 2002)

Thoughts on Singapore

Global Picture Improves . . . North America Still Awaits 'Recovery' (Sept 2002)

However, there are some bright spots:

Wescon North America - Sept. 24-26, 2002, Anaheim, CA

North American 'Recovery' vs. 'Asian Shift' (Aug. 2002)

A Global Perspective

Waiting for the Light (at the End of This Tunnel) (July 2002)

E-mail:  wcuster@mindspring.com

'Value added is Europe's best weapon': interview with Eric Jeanteur, Cire Group (June 2002)

How do the first months of 2002 appear?

Practical Processing of Lead-Free Assemblies (June 2002)

Inventory Replenishment, Future IT Spending Plans Support 2H Recovery (June 2002)

Keep watching the numbers!

HKPCA Show 2002: Sept. 12-14, Dongguan, China

IPC book-to-bill for April 2002: third decline in as many months

www.ipc.org

Some 'Fearless Forecasts' and Why Book/Bill Data Do Not Tell the Whole Story (May 2002)

May 1st, 2002

Momentum Builds for Mid-Year Recovery (April 2002)

April 1st, 2002

FEI's Electronic Design Realisation Centre (UK)

Going the Right Way . . . The Light at the End of the Tunnel Gets Brighter (March 2002)

March 1st, 2002

Circuit Search

job; jobs; job search; job service; recruit; recruiting

Nakahara's Top 200 PCB Shops in 2000 (Feb 2002)

Worlds Top 200 PCB Makers in 2000

A "Wait & See" Recovery (Feb 2002)

February 1st, 2002

CPCA Show (March 12-14)

Looking Forward to Day 2

This is the fifth in a series of articles about APEX, held January 22-24, 2002 in San Diego. It provides a guide to the activities of the second day of the show.

Looking Forward to Day 1

This is the third in a series of articles about APEX, held January 22-24, 2002 in San Diego. It provides a guide to activities taking place during the first day of the show.

So . . . How Long Will This Last? (Jan 2002)

This downturn recession has been around too long. Many of us have lived through multiple "downs" in the business cycle, but this one is awful.

Recovery Delayed: September 11's Impact (Dec. 2001)

Computers

IPC book-to-bill for October 2001: PWB bookings down 49.4% year-to-date (graph included)

www.ipc.org

EPC2002 - Oct. 8-10, Cologne, Germany

Business as usual at Lares Cozzi? Yes--and no (Interview, Nov 2001)

Business as usual at Lares Cozzi? Yesand no (Interview with William Burr, Technical Director)     William Burr       Productronica 2001, held last week in Munich, brought together several thousand members of the electronics industry. Where crowds gather, rumors are bound to arise. One such rumor--that Italian PCB manufacturer Lares Cozzi is experiencing serious difficulties--is addressed in the following interview with William Burr, Technical Director, Lares Cozzi SpA, cond…

Quadruple Whammy: Inventories, Economy, Equipment Orders & September 11 (Nov. 2001)

Electronic Equipment

IPC book-to-bill for September 2001: PWB bookings down 56.1% yoy (chart)

IPC releases book-to-bill ratios for September 2001 IPC today announced that the U.S. Printed Wiring Board Industry Book-to-Bill Ratio for September 2001 was 0.89. Sales billed (shipments) in September 2001 decreased 41.6% over September 2000 and orders booked decreased 56.1% over September 2000. Compared to 2000, bookings of PWBs are down 49.2% year-to-date, while shipments of PWBs are down 25.5% year-to-date. The ratio is calculated by averaging the number of orders booked over the past three…

IPCA (India)

October 1st, 2001

Photonic packaging and interconnection, global trends and markets 2000 - 2005

Photonic packaging and interconnection, global trends and markets 2000 - 2005: BPA holds executive briefing meetings A Cross Section of an Optoelectronic Hybrid PCB In 2000, the market revenue for DWDM (Dense Wavelength Division Multiplex) optoelectronic components was approximately $5 billion, according to BPA Consulting. BPA estimate that by 2005, market revenue will have grown to more than $10 billion. The speed and capacity of optical networks have increased rapidly through the 1990s, drive…

Dubious Distinction: The Worst Downturn Ever (Sept. 2001)

U.S. Shipments   

Obviously More Than Just an Inventory Correction (Aug. 2001)

E-mail: wcuster@mindspring.com

IPC releases book-to-bill ratios for June 2001

IPC releases book-to-bill ratios for June 2001 IPC- Association Connecting Electronics Industries on July 24 announced that the U.S. Printed Wiring Board Industry Book-to-Bill Ratio for June 2001 was 0.74. Sales billed (shipments) in June 2001 decreased 31.9% from June 2000, and orders booked decreased 38.5% from June 2000. Compared to 2000, bookings of PWBs are down 46.2% year-to-date, while shipments of PWBs are down 13.8% year-to-date. The ratio is calculated by averaging the number of order…

IPC releases book-to-bill ratios for May 2001

IPC releases book-to-bill ratios for May 2001 IPC on Monday announced that the US Printed Wiring Board Industry Book-to-Bill Ratio for May 2001 was 0.66. Sales billed (shipments) in May 2001 decreased 20.6% over May 2000, and orders booked decreased 53.4% over May 2000. (See chart.) Compared to 2000, bookings of PWBs are down 47.5% year-to-date, while shipments of PWBs are down 10.5% year-to-date. The ratio is calculated by averaging the number of orders booked over the past three months and div…

Downturn Continues, But More Data Exists to Track Recovery (July 2001)

Type

"The Alcatel PCB shop in Coutances, France has nothing to fear", says Bruno Cassin, director

IPCA (India)

Bad News, Ray of Hope, More Bad News, A Few Positive Signs (June 2001)

How much of this sharp PCB decline is due to declining electronic equipment orders. Some . . . but not all. Chart 2 shows the 12-month rolling average orders for the four key electronic equipment sectors. Notice that computer & office, measurement & control and search & navigation orders have flattened and communications equipment has declined. Because Chart 2 depicts a 12-month rolling average it does not highlight short-term changes.

Business conditions update: some positive news (by Walt Custer)

Wescon 2001: Oct. 16-18, San Jose

Dissecting the Current Downturn (May 2001)

Dissecting the Current Downturn by Walt Custer May 1st, 2001 The present downturn in North American PCB orders is the worst in history. While most people agree that inventory reductions throughout the supply chain are the main cause there is an underlying worry that this "inventory correction" will evolve into a broad recession. I can understand these fears! Yet when I look at some key data I feel a bit better. Ten years ago I wrote the first of these monthly columns for CircuiTree. My initial a…

JPCA Show 2001 - Challenge, 'e' Dream: June 6-8, Tokyo

EIPC Summer Conference - Copenhagen, June 18-19, 2001

CPCA (China)

Letter-writing campaign hopes to extend proposed EPA MP&M guidelines

Letter-writing campaign hopes to extend proposed EPA MP&M guidelines The US Environmental Protection Agency has estimated that seven PWB Facilities would be forced to close under proposed EPA Effluent Guidelines for Metal Products and Machinery (MP&M). An additional 301 facilities are expected to have difficulty financing compliance investments or ongoing business investments as a result of the rule. EPA has estimated the total annualized cost (in 1996 dollars) of the recently proposed …

Bleak Now but a Glimmer of Hope on the Horizon (April 2001)

Bleak Now but a Glimmer of Hope on the Horizon by Walt Custer April 1st, 2001 My news service subscribers have been making snide remarks - saying that they are tired of all the negative press. Virtually every company in the "electronic food chain" has issued a "guidance" cautioning of shortfalls in sales and earnings for the first (and often second) quarters of 2001. The short-term outlook looks bleak both for the economy and the electronics industry. The February Purchasing Managers Index (PMI)…

February electronic industry business conditions: 'flat but not disastrous'

PCB007 interviews CPCA Sec'y General at 2001 show (Mar '01)

Sec'y General of CPCA: 'foreign companies should invest now in China'The 10th CPCA (China Printed Circuit Association) show was held last week in Shanghai, People's Republic of China. The ribbon-cutting was attended by presidents and representatives of worldwide PCB associations: the IPC, EIPC, JPCA, HKPCA, and TPCA. It is estimated that there are nearly 1,000 PCB shops in mainland China, including about 400 copper clad laminators. As many as 30-50% of them will likely disappear in the next few …

Encouraging news for the PCB industry

2000 Was an Interesting Year: How About 2001? (Mar 2001)

Notes:

Intertronic 2001 - March 6-9 in Paris

Big Time Slowdown or Extended Inventory Correction? (Mar 2001)

Computers

Mark this DATE on your PCB show calendar

2001 China Int'l Electronics & Household Appliance Fair June 18-22

U.S. PWB industry: crash landing ahead? (Feb 2001)

Industry deterioration continues

Slowdown in Progress - What's the 6-Month Outlook? (Feb 2001)

February 1st, 2001

Top 100 PWB producers - 1999 (by Dr. Hayao Nakahara)

Dr. Nakahara of N.T. Information Ltd shares his list of the world's 100 top-producing PWB makers in 1999. World Top 100 PWB Makers (1999)By: Dr. Hayao Nakahara N.T. Information Ltd Once again, it is becoming more difficult every year to make accurate assessment of top PWB makers in the world because of their diversified involvement in assembly and other businesses. Currency exchange rate variations make it also difficult to compare the data with previous years. Maximum effort was made to compil…

PCBs will correct downward in first four months of 2001, says Custer (Jan '01)

IPC Printed Circuits Expo - April 1-5, Anaheim, CA

The Charts Look Good, but the News Is Bad (Jan 2001)

January 1st, 2001

EPA proposed effluent standard impacts PWB industry, says IPC

O&G (2)

APEX 2001: January 16-18, San Diego, CA

International Trade Administration, U.S. DOC

IPC releases book-to-bill ratios for October 2000

Northbrook, Illinois-IPC-Association Connecting Electronics Industries has announced that the U.S. printed wiring board industry book-to-bill ratio for October was 1.09. IPC releases book-to-bill ratios for October 2000 Northbrook, Illinois-IPC-Association Connecting Electronics Industries has announced that the U.S. printed wiring board industry book-to-bill ratio for October was 1.09. Sales billed (shipments) in October 2000 increased 24.8% over October 1999, and orders booked increased 19.2% …

APEX at a glance