PATHUMTANI, THAILAND – SVI Public Co. reported THB22.7 billion ($655.3 million) in revenue for 2023, a decrease of 12.4% from the previous year.

TAIPEI – Foxconn announced January revenue of NT522.1 billion ($16.66 billion), down 20.9% year-over-year but up 13.5% compared to December's total.

PEACHTREE CITY, GA – The Printed Circuit Engineering Association (PCEA) will sponsor a pair of one-hour webinars over the next month on two topics of high interest to electronics design, fabrication and assembly professionals: artificial intelligence and thermal management. 

WASHINGTON – Global semiconductor industry sales totaled $526.8 billion in 2023, a decrease of 8.2% compared to the 2022 total of $574.1 billion, which was the industry’s highest-ever annual total, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association.

HYDERABAD, INDIA – Apollo Microsystems reported a 10.9% year-over-year growth in revenue for the third quarter of its fiscal year, totaling Rs91.3 crore ($11 million).

TORONTO -- Celestica is expanding at electronics manufacturing sites in Thailand and Malaysia in anticipation of greater demand for hyperscale computing applications, the company said on a conference call this week.

BENGALURU, INDIA – Tata and Pegatron are reportedly in talks to form a partnership to run an iPhone assembly plant in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

GLENVIEW, IL – ITW reported $731 million in fourth quarter revenue for its Test & Measurement and Electronics segment, essentially flat from the same quarter of 2022.

LYNCHBURG, VA – Electronic Design & Manufacturing has appointed Bree Oldham as president and CEO to replace Georgeann Snead, who retired at the end of 2023.

TEMPE, AZ – Benchmark Electronics announced revenue of $691 million for the fourth quarter, a 4% decrease from 2022's fourth quarter.

If you have a child in Mrs. Dollas' eighth-grade class at the Rupert A. Nock Middle School in Newburyport, MA, odds are you are probably pretty steamed with me right now.

For those who aren't up to speed, here's why.

On a cold winter day in mid-January, I addressed her students about careers in electronics. About 20 teens gathered for the school's ongoing career exploration series (which as an aside, is a wonderful concept that all middle schools should adopt). I was invited to speak about my own career, but I quickly pivoted to the possibilities in tech that don't involve creating an app.

After asking for a show of hands from those who have been scolded by their folks for excessive video game playing – all of them – I then served them a counterargument: Play more!

My reason, I explained, is because video games – well, many of them – encourage students to use their imaginations. And while acknowledging their inherent addictiveness, I also believe they impart tremendous skills and subtle knowledge that will be useful to future generations of workers.

AUSTIN, TX – Flex reported sales of $7.1 billion for the third quarter of its fiscal year, representing a 9% decrease from the same quarter of 2022.