Printed Circuit Design & Fab Online Magazine - Market News

Market News

AUSTIN, TX — Despite what is looking to be a rather dismal year for the PC industry as a whole, mini-note PCs, or netbooks, are forecasted to grow at more than 65% year-over-year in 2009, while the traditional notebook PC market is forecast to grow 3%, according to DisplaySearch.

BANNOCKBURN, IL and LAS VEGAS – IPC presented the 2009 Raymond E. Pritchard IPC Hall of Fame Award to Dan Feinberg and Bill Jacobi.

MAPLEWOOD, MN – 3M Co. is eliminating another 1,200 jobs worldwide, citing the dismal global economy.

According to Jacqueline Berry, spokeswoman for 3M, although less than half of the positions will be in the US, “several hundred” will come from Minnesota, specifically from the company’s headquarters.

The latest figure includes layoffs made earlier in the first quarter. In January, it was announced that the company cut more than 2,400 jobs during the fourth quarter.

FRANKFURT, GERMANY – Machinery and equipment orders in Germany fell 49% during the month of February, reported VDMA, prompting the machine makers’ association to cut its production forecast for the year.

Machinery production and factory construction are now expected to fall 10% to 20% during the year, compared to the original prediction of 7%. The drop would mark the sharpest decrease since 1993.

Domestic orders for the month fell 45% and international orders were down 50% year-over-year, reported VDMA. The machine tool industry is an important sector for the country; Germany’s economy depends heavily on manufacturing exports.

LAS VEGAS – Printed Circuit Design & Fab magazine announced the winners of its 2009 New Product Introduction (NPI) Awards for printed circuit board design software, process equipment and materials.

The NPI Awards, which premiered this year, recognizes the leading new products for printed circuit design and fabrication during the past 12 months.

LOS ALTOS, CA – The outlook for global electronic equipment production isn’t looking good, says Henderson Ventures.

Production is expected to drop 11.9% this year, compared to a gain of 0.2% in 2008. The semiconductor manufacturing equipment sector should brace for declines as high as 50%, according to the research firm.