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BANNOCKBURN, IL – Nearly half the votes registered on a controversial standard limiting halogens in electronics were negative, and the lack of consensus will force a second ballot.

TAIPEI – Almost every major Taiwanese electronics maker reported month-on-month gains in March.

Acer and Compal reported year-over-year gains in March, bucking a broader trend. But only Powerchip declared lower sales from February, while Acer, Asustek, ASE, Compal, Hon Hai (Foxconn), HTC, Mediatek, Quanta, UMC and TMSC all reported sequential gains.

Acer said sales rose 38% sequentially and 24% year-over-year, while Compal’s revenues rose 14.3% sequentially and 16.4% year-over-year.

Foxconn’s March sales jumped 24.4% over February, while Asustek and UMC each gained 40% or more.

STAMFORD, CT -- Worldwide semiconductor revenues dropped 5.4% to $255 billion in 2008, sunk by a severe fourth-quarter slump, a leading research firm said today.

"While sales held up fairly well in the first half of 2008, in the third quarter the industry started to soften as the economy slowed, and by the fourth quarter sales were deteriorating quickly, causing revenue growth to go into negative territory," said Peter Middleton, principal research analyst at Gartner Dataquest, which issued the report.

The industry should prepare for consolidation ahead, Middleton added. "With the market heavily impacted by the recession, we can expect considerable market consolidation going forward."

By market share, Intel was tops for the 17th consecutive year, with a 13.3% share. Samsung was No. 2 (6.8%), Toshiba and TI third (4.2%), and ST Microelectronics fifth (4%). STMicro was the only company in the top five to see revenues rise.

No. 8 Qualcomm saw sales jump 15.3%, the largest gainer among the Top 10, Gartner said.

LONDON -- The Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) has published a consultation paper on proposed changes the European Commission has put forward for WEEE and RoHS.

The changes for WEEE include significant increases in the amounts of electric and electronic waste that are separately collected and recycled.

The changes to RoHS tighten the scope of the restrictions and the substances they apply to.

Commenting on the proposals a BERR spokesperson said: "The UK welcomes the Commission's intention to strengthen the Directives, with further steps to limit the environmental impact of waste equipment. However, we are concerned that the WEEE proposals in particular do present some significant challenges for British businesses."

The consultation paper is designed to give the electronics and ICT industries, the waste management sector, consumers and other interested parties the opportunity to inform the UK government in the impact the changes will have, ahead of the formal negotiations in Brussels.

Responses to the review should be made by May 13, 2009.

The Consultation document is available at: www.berr.gov.uk/whatwedo/sectors/sustainability/weee/page30269.html.

ARLINGTON, VA – Electronics component orders bounced back slightly in March from lows in the first two months of the year, according to the monthly index compiled by the Electronic Components Association.

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