DANBURY, CT -- Dr. Alan Rae has joined Gene H. Weiner & Associates, Inc. as a senior associate. Dr. Rae is a recognized industry expert in the high technology electronics industry with skills that include general and engineering management, strategic visioning, technology transfers and new technology/business development including ceramics and nanotechnology.
Dr. Rae has been involved with the development and commercialization of leading edge technology for over 30 years, including executive management and leadership roles at TAM Ceramics, Cookson Electronics, and NanoDynamics.
Dr. Rae has chaired numerous technical committees including Chair of NEMI’s Optoelectonics TIG, Chair of iNEMI’s Research Committee and JISSO’s North America Committee (coordinating international standards organizations). He is the Leader of ISO TC 229 Task Group on “Sustainability and Nanotechnology”.
EL SEGUNDO, CA -- First quarter PC shipments fell by the largest rate in the seven years, as sluggish desktop sales dragged total shipments down, says iSuppli Corp.
Read more: Q1 Global PC Shipments Tumble, Says iSuppli
AUSTIN, TX-- According to a DisplaySearch report, shipments of large-sized (10-inch plus) thin-film transistor, liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) panels reached 10.6 million units in the first quarter, up 63% sequentially and 78% year-on-year.
A total of 70.8 billion LEDs were shipped in 2008. Shipments of LED backlights for large-size (10-inch plus) TFT LCDs will exceed 368 million in 2012.
LED backlights in notebook PCs will reach 52% in 2009, and will grow rapidly to 81% in 2010. Usage in LCD TVs will ramp up from 3% (3.6 million units) in 2009 to 10% (15 million units) in 2010.
“LEDs will create new growth for the TFT LCD industry due to characteristics such as lowering power consumption, meeting green requirements, adding dimming capability, improving color performance and enabling slim and light form factors for LCD panels and applications,” noted Yoshio Tamura, vice president of DisplaySearch and the component research team leader.
TAIPEI – According to a survey released by China Credit Information Service, and reported by CENS, half of the top 10 companies in Taiwan were in the red for 2008 and 20% of the top 500 companies posted a loss for the year.
Employment in Taiwan was down by 21,400 in 2008.
In 2007 total revenue from the top 500 companies grew by 44.4%, but in 2008 revenue only increased by 1.2%.
The export and technology segments were hardest hit. Electronic components and printed circuit board companies suffered some of the biggest losses for the year.
DUBLIN, IRELAND -- According to a report by Research and Markets, the US electronic connector industry including coaxial, cylindrical, rack and panel, pin and sleeve, printed circuit and fiber optic connectors, enjoyed revenues of approximately $4.2 billion in 2008.
Read more: Report: US Connector Market Hits $4.2 Billion
EL SEGUNDO, CA -- Worldwide semiconductor revenue in the first quarter fell 33.8% year-over-year to $44.3 billion, according to research released yesterday. However, it could mark the bottom of the decline, iSuppli said.
Sales were down 18.8% sequentially, iSuppli said.
The decline has been broad-based, with almost every supplier affected. “Of the 130-plus semiconductor suppliers tracked by iSuppli on a quarterly basis, only six managed to expand their revenue in the first quarter compared to the fourth quarter of 2008,” said Dale Ford, senior vice president, market intelligence, for iSuppli. “Even among these six suppliers, four increased their revenue by only 1 to 3%.”
iSuppli’s latest forecast predicts that the first quarter will represent the bottom of the semiconductor market decline and that revenues in the fourth quarter of 2009 will exceed those in the fourth quarter 2008. On a sequential basis, revenue will rise 7.1% in the current quarter, by 10.4% in the third and 4.9% in the fourth quarter.
During the March quarter, every major region suffered sequential double-digit percentage declines in semiconductor revenue. “Although the first quarter is typically weak for the global semiconductor industry, the sharp declines in semiconductor during that period and in the fourth quarter of 2008 reflect the impact of the global economic downturn on the worldwide chip business,” Ford said.
Companies headquartered in the Americas fared the best during the downturn, with a combined revenue decline in US dollars of 30.8% since the third quarter of 2008. European-headquartered companies suffered the worst decline, with their combined revenues falling 44.5% during the same period. Japanese suppliers fared nearly as badly as their European counterparts, suffering a contraction of 43.5%.
However, the picture is very different if company revenues are maintained in the local currency and not converted to US dollars. Changes in currency exchange rates have a notable impact on revenue growth when converted to a common dollar basis. European supplier revenues fell by 36.1% since the third quarter 2008 if their revenues are measured in euros. On the other hand, Japanese company revenues fell by nearly 51% during the same time if revenues are measured in yen.
Korean and Taiwanese suppliers saw steep revenue declines between the third and fourth quarters of 2008 followed by much more moderate declines between the fourth and first quarters. In contrast, Japanese companies suffered the biggest hit on revenues in the first quarter of 2009 when their combined revenues fell by nearly 31% compared to the fourth quarter.
