GERMANY – The German Electronics manufacturing industry saw orders for electronic goods rise by near 12% for the fourth quarter 2007, which led to a 4.3% increase in revenues for the same period, according to the German Electric and Electronic Manufacturers' Association (ZVEI).

Manufacturers have stated that revenue growth might have been higher, but was impacted by the lesser number of working days in the fourth quarter (60 as opposed to 65).

The Book-to-bill ratio reached 1.10, indicating a coming increase in sales. The number of employees increased slightly by 0.4%.

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ARLINGTON, VA - In typical yearly fashion, February orders bounced back after a January downturn, according to the February monthly index report compiled by the Electronic Components Association (ECA). The 12-month average continued its near level rise that has been the trend since August.

"February was business as usual for the electronic components industry," said Bob Willis, ECA president. "As for the future, we'll get some real insight into where the industry is moving next week."

The “next week” referred to is the CARTS USA 2008 industry seminar in Newport Beach, CA, where market discussions will focus on industry outlooks and forces that will impact the global electronics industry.

SCHAUMBURG, IL - Unless current market trends change quickly, Motorola may soon become the world's fourth-largest mobile phone maker.

Nokia continues to lead the market with about 40% of the market share, and Samsung surpassed Motorola to take the second position last summer. Sony Ericsson has recently released several new phone products, and if Motorola's phone sales continue to decline, the company may end the year behind its rivals.

Stuart Reed, the former mobile phone chief has resigned, a month after CEO Greg Brown took over his duties. Brown has been under pressure from shareholders to break up the company, and in January, Brown and the board put the company’s mobile phone segment up for sale, while contending that the unit is fixable and that he's looking for a new chief in the attempt to turn things around.

Dell computer had been cited as a possible purchaser, but Dell's recent poor earnings report indicate that the company is not in the position for a new acquisition.

Without a new phone product to market, industry reports say Motorola's market share decline will likely continue, and the company did not present any new designs at two recent industry product showcase events.