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BANNOCKBURN, IL – The IPC has released the International Technology Roadmap for Electronic Interconnections 2008-2009.

The roadmap is based on a two-year study that looks at future technology for the industry. The IPC Roadmap focuses exclusively on the printed board and electronics assembly industries, and centers on the manufacturing of substrates and assemblies.

The IPC roadmap uses product emulators to illustrate OEM needs. These product emulators have been developed with input from several OEMs and experts. Product emulators have been used in the IPC roadmap since 1995.

Product emulators for the 2008-2009 IPC roadmap are:

E1 - Electronic Games (portable).
E2 - Consumer Products (under $500).
E3 - Hand-held/Wireless Electronics.
E4 - Mid Range Performance Electronics.
E5 - High Performance Systems (mainframe/server/mass storage).
E6 - RF and Microwave Electronics (10 MHz).
E7 - Harsh Environments/Aerospace.
E8 - Harsh Environments/Auto Electronics.

TOKYO – The Japanese government reported that machinery orders for the electronics sector were up 15.6% in April, month-on-month.

The auto industry also enjoyed a healthy increase, up 10.5% sequentially.

Not all sectors showed signs of recover as the a key indicator, core machinery orders (excluding shipbuilding and electric power products) fell 5.4% sequentially in April to the lowest value since April 1987.

Machinery orders in the general manufacturing sector also declined, down 9.4% month-on-month, and non-manufacturers orders fell 8.8% sequentially.

AUSTIN, TX – National Instruments reported the average daily order rate for the quarter to date dropped 27% from last year on the continued decrease in manufacturing. Year-over-year, April orders were down 31%, while May orders fell 24%.

WASHINGTON – The Semiconductor Industry Association today presented its 2009 Innovation Leadership Award to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) for spearheading the development of the Democratic Innovation Agenda and for her strong support for funding the science and education provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and the America COMPETES Act.

“Legislation passed this year with unwavering support from Speaker Pelosi represents the most important development in federal support for science in a generation,” said SIA president George Scalise.

“Increasing federal funding for basic research and improving education, especially in math and science, is essential to maintaining US leadership,” Scalise said. “Speaker Pelosi’s support, especially during the intense negotiations between the House and Senate, was critical to keeping the increased funding provisions in the compromise legislation that eventually passed.”

STAMFORD, CT -- IT budgets will drop 4.7% on average this year, according to the latest survey of the nation's corporate chief information officers.

The survey, conducted between March 1 and April 30 by Gartner, found only 4% of CIOs are increasing their IT budgets.

Meanwhile, 42% said they have trimmed expenditures and 54% reported no change.

According to the survey, CIOs are bringing work in-house and pushing out capital spending, Gartner found.

BANNOCKBURN, IL – IPC’s spring 2009 Supply Chain Tracker this week showed continuing economic contraction, but also indicated the first signs of recovery in the electronics industry.

IPC's global statistical programs for several industry segments all show worsening year-over-year growth rates in the first quarter, after growth rates turned negative in late 2008.

The association’s North American Electronics Industry Performance Index fell 29%. This is the third straight quarter the index has declined. This index monitors the performance of the North American electronics supply chain.

Some leading indicators, however, are beginning to show improvement. The April book-to-bill ratio for the North American PCB industry climbed for the third straight month from 0.89 to 0.97, says IPC. This ratio still indicates lagging demand, but it is trending toward 1.0, the point of parity between bookings and shipments.

The EMS book-to-bill ratio inched up to 0.95 at the end of the quarter. Semiconductor sales, while still in negative territory, improved in the quarter.

The number or size of the reporting companies was not disclosed.