FRANKFURT -- Cisco's inline Q, modestly improved inventory efficiency and only somewhat reserved outlook for the first quarter suggests that Celestica and Solectron are losing share at Cisco, according to Deutsche Bank analysts. DB believes U.S.-based EMS vendors will continue to lose share to more cost-competitive Asian-based suppliers like Hon Hai.

Cisco is one of the largest customers of the EMS industry and an indicator of the health of enterprise spending/communications equipment end demand. Cisco reported revenue of $6.58 billion, up 6% from last quarter and up 11% year on year, and roughly inline with consensus

($6.56B). Inventories increased 1% this quarter. Revenue guidance for 2006 was slightly below expectations.

Given the weak guidance by Solectron and Celestica, most EMS investors were expecting a meaningful inventory reduction (Solectron's revenue from Cisco declined 25% from the previous quarter). Solectron (14% of sales; switches and routers), Celestica (>10%; optical and switches) and Jabil (10-15%; routers, storage) have the most exposure to Cisco.

Switch sales increased 10% quarter on quarter, while year-on-year growth slowed to 3% for routers. Advanced Technology products remained strong, increasing 27% from last year.  Cisco's suggested that demand in Europe and the U.S. remains healthy.

DB remains cautious on the EMS industry due to their continued share loss to Asian-based competitors like Hon Hai. While Hon Hai's Q3 sales will likely be up roughly 50% year on year, the U.S.-based EMS industry's sales are forecast to be down 5%.

Solectron, Sanmina-SCI and Celestica are at most risk of further share loss, while Flextronics is best positioned for market share growth, said DB. 

SAN JOSE, CA -- X-line Asset Management will hold an online auction Aug. 16-17 for the liquidation of over 275 pieces of SMT, PCB and ETM equipment from a variety of sellers. X-line forecasts the value of the equipment to be over $1 million from companies within the U.S., Canada and the U.K. Tto view the auction catalog and bid, visit xlineassets.com.

X-line is also liquidating high-tech manufacturing equipment from the Anaheim, CA, facility of APW Ltd. APW Ltd. provides global capabilities in the design manufacturing and integration of electrical and mechanical solutions. Brands such as Sanyo, Heller and CR Technologies are up for bid (xlineassets.com/apw.shtml).

The company has also agreed to liquidate the 10,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility of EMS provider Selectronics Corp. (Round Rock, TX). Equipment is available for immediate sale, contact sales@xlineassets.com.

Fort Worth, TX – Allied Electronics has launched an online RoHS Knowledge Center to help design engineers, purchasers and other industry professionals comply with emerging green laws, such as the EU’s RoHS legislation set to go into effect next year.

The Website (www.alliedelec.com/RoHS) is designed to keep customers up-to-date on RoHS and other green laws affecting the electronics industry in North America. It will feature manufacturer updates and a listing of the company’s RoHS-compliant products.

In addition, the site features a RoHS search functionality that will display products that are RoHS compliant. Users can enter a part number to determine a component's RoHS status.

STAMFORD, CT — Feinfocus, a COMET business unit and manufacturer of high-resolution microfocus x-ray inspection systems, formed a technology alliance with INNOV-X Systems, a manufacturer of high-performance portable x-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyzers. The companies are collaborating to introduce products to the electronics assembly and semiconductor packaging markets.

COMET recently exhibited the INNOV-X Hawk-i solder paste analyzer at Semicon West, which offers yield accuracies of 0.1 – 0.5%. It uses an air-cooled microfocus x-ray tube with a spot size of 0.2 – 6 mm for precise analysis. Powered by proprietary user-friendly parameter software, it can detect even slight variances in a solder joint. Features a standard Windows computer with single-button operation. Options include an enhanced spot size of 0.1 – 13 mm, a joystick with automatic x-y stage positioning and a liquid sample adapter with specialized liquid analysis software.