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BRUSSELS – The EU environmental NGOs, via The International Chemical Secretariat today introduced a list of some 300 chemical substances considered of “very high concern” and suitable for disclosing, says Design Chain Associates.

The substances are compiled in the SIN (Substitute It Now) list, introduced in Brussels today.

NGOs believe these 300 chemical substances should be considered candidates for Substances of Very High Concern in REACH legislation, according to DCA. And DCA says this list should be taken seriously, as “serious scientists” compiled it.

Previously, the European Chemicals Agency published a proposed list of 16 substances. If all goes according to plan, they expect the first candidate list to be approved – barring dissent – on Oct. 22, according to Geert Dancet, head of ECHA. According to article 33 of REACH, after that date, a manufacturer must disclose to customers if any of these 16 substances are contained in a product in an amount over 0.1% weight-by-weight, also providing safe use information.

Dancet indicated the expectation that the candidate list would be updated annually, but was somewhat noncommittal, says DCA.

WASHINGTON, DC – Two top electronics trade groups are talking merger in what would become the nation's largest tech trade group, boasting more than 2,600 member companies and annual revenues of more than $26 million.

The AeA (formerly the American Electronics Association) and the Information Technology Association of America announced discussions to merge the trade associations' memberships and programs.

In a statement, the respective boards said combining forces would provide members with additional benefits and services, including "unprecedented capabilities in lobbying, business and capital development, business services, elite networking, market forecasting, standards development and research."

AeA has 2,400 corporate members and focuses on lobbying at the state, federal and international levels. Its 2006 revenues, the last year for which records are available, were $19.4 million. ITAA has 360 members and concentrates on business development, public policy advocacy, market forecasting and standards development. Its 2006 revenues were $5.9 million. Combined, the groups spent $2.25 million to lobby the federal government in 2007, according to required filings, and have been increasing their contributions this year.

"Together we would be the national technology association, unrivaled in size and clout," said ITAA Chairman Hank Steininger, a managing partner at Grant Thornton. "With a new Administration and Congress on the horizon in Washington, it's critical for the industry to present a united front."

"Convergence, consolidation, and the change brewing in Washington require us to speak with a louder, clearer voice," said AeA chairperson Deirdre Hanford, a senior vice president at Synopsys Inc.

ITAA was a formerly partner in the Electronics Industries Alliance. That group of four associations splintered in mid 2006.

LUDWIGSHAFEN, GERMANY – M&A activitie continues in the chemical industry. BASF SE the world's largest chemical company has agreed to buy Ciba Holding AG for 6.1 billion Swiss francs ($5.5 billion). BASF will pay 50 francs in cash for each Ciba share, 32% over the September 12^th closing price.

The merger of BASF and Ciba improves the BASF position in the plastics and coatings industries. Ciba supplies many well known photo initiators that are used in the formulation of dry films, liquid photoimagable resists and solder mask materials used in PCB and IC fabrication.

BERLIN– According to ZVEI, the electronics industry in Germany is expected to see a 4% growth in sales for 2008, as well as a further 2% jump in 2009. The reason for the improvement is due to the increase in turnover being twice as strong as the overall economic growth in Germany.

PORTSMOUTH, ENGLAND – Of a global industrial and medical electronics market valued at around $525 billion in 2007, US OEMS accounted for half the total, says Semicast.

Of those OEMs supplying electronic products to the industrial and medical sector in 2007, the top three suppliers – Caterpillar, Deere & Co and United Technologies – are all US-owned companies, with Applied Materials, GE and Medtronic also appearing in the top 10.

With six of the 10 largest OEMs supplying industrial and medical electronics, US dominance looks unlikely to weaken any time soon, says Semicast.

While many often think of Europe and Japan as powerhouses in the industrial and medical electronics sector, European and Japanese OEMs account for less than 30% and 20% of the total market respectively. Siemens is ranked as the largest European OEM in the analysis, while Komatsu emerges as the leading Japanese supplier, according to the firm.

Korean manufacturers take fourth place, led by suppliers such as Hyundai and Doosan Infracore. However, with a share of less than 2% of the global market, it will take a seismic shift for the Koreans to take on the established order.

As a country that has dominated headlines for much of the last decade, the impact so far of Chinese OEMs on the world industrial and medical electronics market has been somewhat limited, with companies like Goldwind and Sinovel still having relatively low brand recognition, says Semicast. However, Chinese OEMs have gained a foothold in some specific markets; for example, Hangcha and Hangzhou Forklift are both becoming established as suppliers of forklift trucks and materials handling, while Holley and Londian Electrics continue to develop a presence in electronic utility metering.

Overall, Chinese OEMs are estimated to have supplied less than 1% of the world industrial and medical electronics market in 2007, reinforcing the conclusion that they have a long way to go before emerging as a major force on the world stage. However, Colin Barnden, Semicast’s principal analyst, urged a word of caution: “One need only consider the dramatic impact Huawei Technologies has had on the telecommunications market to realize that it would be a mistake to underestimate the Chinese over the long term.”

EL SEGUNDO, CA – China was hoping for an economic boost from the Summer Olympics, but the event actually had the opposite effect on the nation’s DRAM market, plowing a trough in demand right before the all-important holiday season, according to iSuppli Corp.

With China’s attention focused on the event, third-quarter DRAM shipments in the nation are expected to post virtually no growth sequentially, falling short of expectations, says the research firm.

However, while iSuppli believes DRAM demand will begin to recover sharply at start of the pre-holiday ramp, the industry still faces significant inventory, suppressing prices. In the spot memory market, pricing for 1Gbit DDR2 DRAM dropped by a stunning 18% during the week of Sept. 1. iSuppli expects a severe price erosion for the entire month of September. Because of this, it’s a great time to buy DRAM in China, according to the firm

“The games clashed with the traditional summer promotional season for PCs in China, with many consumers glued to their TVs and absent from stores,” said John Lei, analyst, memory ICs and storage systems for iSuppli. “This caused sales momentum to slow. Furthermore, all the IT equipment required for the Olympics was purchased years before the event, meaning there was no Olympic boost for DRAM demand.”

Even before the Olympics, consumer PC demand in China was already facing economic headwinds because of rising inflation, says iSuppli. Beyond this, China’s government engaged in stricter imports control during the Olympics, causing purchasing activity on the DRAM spot memory market to decline.

With the conclusion of the Olympics and the impending start of the holiday season, consumers should start buying more PCs, driving domestic demand for DRAM, says the firm.

Furthermore, China’s consumer price index began to decline in the second quarter and is likely to continue to decrease throughout the second half, reducing inflationary pressures and encouraging consumers to spend.

With most construction and provisioning of national IT facilities completed prior to the Olympics, most PCs now in use at these operations are at least two to three years old. These systems will need to be replaced or upgraded, particularly with the 60^th National Day events to be held in 2009.

Also, fast-growing Chinese Internet service companies will be upgrading their systems as they expand their operations to attract more customers. Rather than buying new equipment, many companies are likely to take a cheaper route and upgrade the DRAM in many of their systems, iSuppli predicts.

Regardless of the third quarter, China remains one of the most vibrant markets for DRAM in the world. National PC penetration per family is only at about 55%, which means computer and DRAM demand will continue growing in the future. Much of the growth will be in lower-cost white box PCs, whose sales growth is expected to outperform the branded computer segment in the coming years.

As a result, iSuppli predicts China’s DRAM market will avoid a downturn.