Circuits Assembly Online Magazine - Current Issue

News

TEMPE, AZ, Dec. 6 — Economic activity in the manufacturing sector grew in November for the 18th consecutive month, while the overall economy grew for the 37th consecutive month, say the nation's supply executives.

A report was issued today by the Institute for Supply Management (www.ism.ws) found the closely watched PMI index at 57.8% in November, up one point from October. The new orders index rose 3.2 points to 61.5%. The figures reversed a three-month slide.

"The manufacturing sector appears poised to end the year on a strong note as the new orders index made its way back above the 60% mark, and the employment index picked up significant momentum," said chairman Norbert Ore. "There is still significant upward pressure on prices as commodity price increases are common."

A PMI over 50 is considered a sign of an expansion.

Other findings: There is significant upward pressure on prices. Customer inventories are too low. Order backlogs fell in November. New export orders and imports continued to grow.

Comments from respondents this month focused on inflationary concerns. While many manufacturers are enjoying strong sales, there is concern that commodity prices are eroding profits. Energy leads the list of inflationary drivers as many commodities are derived from oil and gas feedstocks.

Production fell 1.9 points to 57% percent in November. Employment is at 57.6%, up 2.8 points.

The inventories index registered 50.7 percent in November, up from the 48.2 percent reported in October. ISM's customers' inventories index is at 43.5 percent. The prices index fell 4.5 points to 74%.

The order backlog index fell 1.5 points to 47.5%. The new export orders index was 54.7%, down 1.9 points. Imports decreased 0.1 point to 58.4% in November.

"It appears the manufacturing sector is definitely sustaining its momentum as this month's PMI strengthened slightly while continuing to indicate a gradual downward trend," said Ore. "Prices are a big issue, but the strength in new orders offsets some of those concerns as companies work to benefit from the volume."

In November, 15 industries reported growth including Industrial and Commercial Equipment and Computers, and Electronic Components and Equipment.

MUNICH, Dec. 1 -- Siemens Logistics and Assembly Systems, which has reportedly installed more placement machines than any other company, today disclosed its latest machine platform to a group of editors, including Circuits Assembly.

The Siplace X-series comes in two, three and four gantry versions and features an innovative head with 20 nozzles. Further, it reaches placement speeds of up to 20,000 components per hour, Siemens says. Designed for modularity and flexibility, it marks the equipment giant's first new platform in years.

The new machine is currently in beta testing at BMK Electronics, a contract assembler in Augsburg, and at Fujitsu Siemens. Siemens will officially roll out Siplace X in February, at Apex.

The new platform also comes with next-generation feeder modules and a new vision system.

At 2.4 by 2.5 meters, the platform footprint is the same as Siemens' previous models.

During the conference, Tilo Brandis, head of Siemens Electronic Assembly Systems, said the division grew 40% during its recently completed fiscal year 2003 -- twice the industry average. The company is on pace to ship 1286 placement machines in 2004, up more than 300 from 2003.