News
The book-to-bill ratio for April 2004 remained positive at 1.11, just slightly down from 1.12 in March, according to IPC (Northbrook, IL). The ratio is calculated by averaging the index numbers for orders booked over the past three months and dividing by the average index numbers for sales billed during the same period. A ratio greater than 1.00 suggests that current demand is ahead of supply, indicating probable near-term growth.
Shipments in April increased 41.3% from April 2003, and orders booked increased 63.6%. PCB shipments are up 34.7% year-to-date, while bookings are up 47.1%.
The April shipment index was 131.4, down 13.3% sequentially, and the booking index was also down, decreasing 15.2% to 136.3.
The index shows how current shipments and bookings relate to an index point. In this case, 1992 was chosen as a stable growth year for U.S. PCB manufacturers. A shipment index number of 117.0, for example, indicates that shipments are 17% higher than average shipments for the same time period in 1992.
According to data reported by current participants in the monthly survey, their shipments increased 30.9% in April 2004 year-on-year and their orders booked increased 49.8%, with year-to-date shipments and bookings rising 30.4% and 43%, respectively.
The information is based on data provided by PCB manufacturers that participate in IPC's monthly statistical program. These companies reportedly represent approximately 60% of the U.S. IMS industry.
Copyright 2004, UP Media Group. All rights reserved.
Sponsored by the ESD Association (Rome, NY), the 2004 EOS/ESD Symposium will package research, technology and education into one international electrostatic discharge (ESD) event Sept.19-23 at the Gaylord Texan Resort and Conference Center in Grapevine, TX.
The program is organized in three special interest tracks: ESD Test, Failure Analysis and Systems; Factory, Materials and ESD Control; and Device, Design and Technology. Attendees will be able to customize their experience along their specific areas of interest.
This year's symposium features 51 papers to be presented in 10 parallel technical sessions: MR Heads - Processing; RFIC and Novel Protection Devices; System Level and Other ESD Issues; On-Chip Protection Strategies, Physics and Modeling; Tester - Device Effects; Analysis and Modeling of ESD Design Failures; Factory and Materials; Characterization of On-Chip Protection; Novel TLP Testers; and Magnetic Recording Heads.
The technical sessions also feature the award winning paper from the 2003 RCJ EOS/ESD Symposium-Japan: ESD Protection Design Using a Mixed-Mode Simulation for Advanced Devices by H. Hayashi, S. Kuroda, K. Kato, K. Fukuda, S. Baba and Y. Fukuda of Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd.
The week's events open with three full-day ESD tutorials. An additional 17 tutorials will be offered throughout the week, covering topics such as Air Ionization: Issues and Answers; Packaging Principles for the Program Manager; Device Technology and FA Overview; Electrostatic Calculations for the ESD Engineer; and Cleanroom Considerations for the Program Manager.
A two-day seminar, ESD Program Development and Assessment (ANSI/ESD S20.20), will take place on September 19-20.
Eight interactive workshops will cover Silicon Technology Scaling and ESD Reliability - Roadmap and Reality; Common Auditing Issues; ESD in Cleanrooms; Can TLP Go Beyond HBM and CDM?; Ionization Issues; Automated Equipment, ESD and Grounding Issues; ESD in Magnetic Recording, and HBM-TLP Testing Miscorrelation: Experiences, Explanations and Solutions.
Attendees also will have the opportunity to visit exhibit booths displaying ESD control products and services. The exhibits are open to anyone interested in EOS and ESD; symposium registration is not required to attend the exhibits.
Other events include a Welcome Reception, an Awards Breakfast, a Professional and Technical Women's Reception, the ESD Association Annual Meeting and Luncheon, Authors' Corners to discuss the technical papers with the authors and ESD training presentations.
The detailed program is available at: www.esda.org/symposia.html.
Copyright 2004, UP Media Group. All rights reserved.
Hover-Davis, Inc. (Rochester, NY) has hired Darrell R. Tullar as Marketing Manager. In this new role, Tullar will lead global technical and promotional marketing activities and strategies. His focus will be on market growth and increasing sales.
Tullar comes to the company with over 24 years of experience in the electronics industry. He has held positions in customer service, product management, marketing and sales, while at Motorola, Universal Instruments & PMJ Automec.
Copyright 2004, UP Media Group. All rights reserved.
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