Printed Circuit Design & Fab Online Magazine - Market News

Market News

WASHINGTON – The US Environmental Protection Agency requires electronic submissions for new chemical notices under the Toxic Substances Control Act.

Beginning Apr. 6, companies can no longer submit new chemical notices and support documents on paper for EPA’s review. This is aligned with Europe, China, and the EPA's mission to modernize chemical reporting and eliminate outdated modes of chemical data management.

All new TSCA section 5 pre-manufacture notices must be submitted electronically through CDX – or on optical CD – and must use e-PMN software.

The same rule applies to support documents for notices submitted after Apr. 6, 2010. Optical discs can no longer be used after Apr. 6, 2012.

With PMNs, new chemical notices must be submitted to EPA at least 90 days prior to the manufacture or import of the chemical.

For more information on EPA’s electronic reporting software and CDX, visit http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/newchems//epmn/epmn-index.htm.

HONG KONG — The worldwide semiconductor equipment market grew 143% in 2010 to nearly $41 billion on broad-based market strength.

Read more: 2010 Semi Gear Story: "Hot Growth Year'

EL SEGUNDO, CA -- Supply disruptions brought on by natural disasters in Japan will spur higher semiconductor pricing, particularly for memory, in 2011, a leading analyst said today.

Read more: Analyst: Short IC Supply Means Higher Revenue

SAN JOSE — The 90-day moving average worldwide sales of semiconductors slipped 1.1% sequentially to $25.2 billion in February, on seasonality swings. Sales rose 13.6% from a year ago.

Read more: Semi Sales Up Again in February

BANNOCKBURN, IL – North American printed circuit fabricators reported February shipments were up 11.1% year-over-year, as orders decreased 4.1%.

The book-to-bill ratio in February slipped to 0.95, says IPC. A ratio of more than 1.0 suggests current demand is ahead of supply, which is a positive indicator for sales growth over the next two to three months.

February rigid printed circuit board shipments were up 11.4%, and orders fell 7.3% year-over-year. Flex circuit shipments were up 8.3%, and orders grew 36.3% compared to February 2010.

Through February, PCB shipments were up 7.8%, and orders were down 5.3%. Sequentially, circuit shipments increased 12.9%, and orders rose 7%.
Rigid shipments were up 7.7 %, and orders declined 7.5%. Sequentially, rigid shipments increased 13.2%, and orders were up 6.4%. Flex shipments increased 9.4%, and orders were up 19.7%. Sequentially, flex shipments increased 9.3%, and orders rose 12.6%. The rigid book-to-bill dipped to 0.94, while flex book-to-bill jumped to 1.10.

Rigid PCB sales have been growing faster than orders for the past six months, while the opposite is happening in the flexible circuit segment, IPC said.

Rigid circuits represent an estimated 89% of the current industry in North America. In February, 24% of the sales were to the military market. Rigid board producers reported military sales accounted for 23% of sales for the month, and flex circuit producers reported 38% military sales.

In February, 77% of total PWB shipments reported were domestically produced. Domestic production accounted for 76% of rigid and 88% of flex shipments.

HERNDON, VA – iNEMI will review highlights of its latest electronics industry roadmap on Mar. 29 with two free webinar sessions.

The 1.5-hour webinars will discuss trends and highlights identified in the roadmap; review key technology drivers from medical, automotive and portable electronics, and discuss highlights from selected technology chapters (packaging and substrates, board assembly, environmentally conscious electronics, and test, inspection and measurement).

The more than 1800-page document identifies issues and R&D needs of the electronics manufacturing industry for the next 10 years.

For more information and to register for the webinar, visit http://www.inemi.org/cms/calendar/2011Roadmap_Webinars.html.

For a schedule of gap analysis meetings at APEX, which are open to industry, visit http://www.inemi.org/cms/calendar/APEX11.html.