EL SEGUNDO, CA – After nearly three months of plummeting profitability and precipitous price plunges, the large-sized LCD panel (10" or longer) market finally is set for a recovery in September, iSuppli Corp. predicts.

“The large-sized LCD panel market has been mired in a state of severe oversupply since the start of June, due to lower-than-expected panel demand and high inventory levels throughout the supply chain,” said Sweta Dash, director of LCD and projection research at iSuppli. “Conditions have worsened in August, with poor economic circumstances causing prices to decline at an even faster pace than before. However, panel production cuts, combined with the clearance of inventory and a recovery in demand from televisions, desktop PC monitors and notebook PCs are expected to shift the supply/demand equation back to balance in September. This will lead to a recovery in pricing.”

After rising 6.9% in May, global large-sized LCD panel unit shipments declined 9.6% sequentially in June, says iSuppli. Prices dropped 4% to 7% for mainstream notebook, monitor and TV panels from May to June and another 3% to 15% in July, and are expected to decrease 4% to 20% for the entire month of August, the research firm adds.

Because of this, large-sized panel prices now approach the manufacturing-cost level, especially for some TV and many monitor panels. However, panel suppliers and equipment makers moved quickly this year to adjust to weakening market conditions, says the firm.

“Reacting to weak sales and declining profitability, panel suppliers began to slash their utilization rates starting in July,” Dash noted. “LCD-TV and desktop PC monitor manufacturers also are starting to cut their prices to reduce inventories and boost end-user demand. These developments, along with recovering demand from the notebook segment, will bring stabilization to large-sized LCD panel pricing in September. Some panel prices may even increase by 1 to 3%, especially those that are reaching at or below the cost levels.”

China's consumer spending on LCD-TVs was expected to be strong this year because of the impact of the Olympics. However, China suffered natural disasters in the first half of 2008 that have dampened consumer sales. In general, the Olympic sales pickup in China and elsewhere fell short of expectations, says iSuppli.

On the supply side, LCD makers in the first half of the year shifted production of TV panels away from sixth-generation fabs and into seventh, 7.5- and eighth-generation facilities. Eighth-generation fabs are capable of producing large-sized panels much more efficiently than sixth-generation factories, boosting productivity throughout the industry, says the firm.

This rising production contributed to declines in average LCD-TV panel prices throughout 2008, falling by as much as 15% to 20% from the start of 2008.

LCD monitor panel prices for desktop PCs have already fallen 20% to 25% since May. Panel suppliers reported about one to two weeks of excess monitor module inventory in July. Channel participants and brand vendors also reported two to three weeks of extra inventory in July.

Branded vendors in Europe and parts of North America have started cutting prices to reduce inventories. Because of this, orders for finished monitors began to increase in August and are expected to rise again in September, says iSuppli.

Notebook panel prices have fallen 12% to 16% since May. Second-quarter sales for notebook PCs were lower than expected as a result of the increasing cost of key components, tight supplies in some other parts such as batteries, and order adjustments made for mid-year inventory.

While orders continue to be cut, the end-market demand remains the most resilient among large-area panel applications, says iSuppli. Notebook OEMs and ODMs still are expecting at least 15% to 20% sequential growth in unit shipments in the third quarter because of strong end demand.

ORLANDO – Seica Inc., supplier of ICT and flying probe systems, and Corelis Inc., provider of boundary-scan and JTAG emulation test tools, have formed a partnership to deliver an integrated system based on Seica’s Pilot flying probe system and boundary-scan products from Corelis.

The two firms will integrate Corelis boundary-scan JTAG controllers and software to support different configurations and applications.

The integrated solution is already deployed at a major defense electronics manufacturer, the companies said.

SPOKANE VALLEY, WA – EMS provider Key Tronic Corp. announced fourth-quarter fiscal 2008 revenue was $57.3 million, up 17% year-over-year.

Fourth-quarter net income was $2.6 million, down 3.7% compared to the same period last year.

For full-year 2008, revenue was $204.1 million, up a slight 1.2% compared to 2007. Net income was $5.6 million, up 7% year-over-year.

"For the fourth quarter and for the year, we achieved the highest revenue since implementing our EMS strategy. During the year, we had eight new customers contributing about 13% of our total revenue. In fiscal 2009, we expect 10 additional new customers to come on line. Together, we expect these 18 new customers to contribute approximately 40% of our revenue in fiscal 2009, offsetting the anticipated decline in demand from some of our existing customers,” said president and CEO Jack Oehlke.

For the first quarter of 2009, the company expects revenue in the range of $45 million to $48 million.

ROLLING MEADOWS, IL – With a traveling classroom on its doorstep (AKA the rework bus), the front office at BEST Inc. looks like any other office. But then you round the corner. Like Oz behind the curtain, the bustling building is much larger than the front desks imply. And even at 7:30 a.m., ample staff works diligently as if they’d been there for hours.

On Aug. 14, BEST opened its suburban Chicago doors to local SMTA chapter members and about 50 industry professionals from around the country. President Bob Wetterman’s spacious repair/rework facility provided the backdrop (and tasty breakfast casseroles) for a classroom-style educational symposium, with speakers from the host firm, OK International and VJ Electronix, as well as five hands-on demonstrations presented by on-the-job technical staff.

SAN FRANCISCO – Hewlett-Packard Co.’s third-quarter revenues were $28 billion, up 10% year-over-year, according to Deutsche Bank Equity Research.

Strong PC results offset weakness in printers, says DB.

DB expects fourth-quarter revenues of $30.2 to 30.3 billion for H-P.

The research firm has adjusted full-year 2008 estimates to $115 billion.

SAN JOSE, CA – North America-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $905 million in orders in July and a book-to-bill ratio of 0.83, says SEMI.

SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ – Effective Sept. 1, Cookson Electronics will increase its prices on alcohol-based chemicals, including Alpha thinners and wave solder fluxes.

SAN JOSE, CA – Revenue for the worldwide EMS market was $261 billion in 2007, up 17% year-over-year, according to Electronic Trend Publications.

YAVNE, ISRAEL – Software provider Valor Computerized Systems Ltd. reported second-quarter revenues of $10.7 million, up 2% year-over-year.

Net profit was $600,000, up 6% compared to the second quarter of 2007.

Revenues in the first half of 2008 were $21.4 million, up 2% compared to the same period last year.

First-half net profit was $2.1 million, up 43% year-over-year.

“Q2 was a good quarter for Valor, despite the slowdown in global economy and the weakness of the US$,” said Valor’s CEO Dan Hoz. “During the quarter we established three new OEM agreements with major machine vendors, who will be selling our products together with their machines.”

SIOUX FALLS, SD – EMS provider Raven Industries Inc. today announced second-quarter sales of $69.3 million, 24% year-over-year. The largest contributor to the increase was the flow controls division, the firm said.

Net income rose 17% to $6.8 million compared to the second quarter last year.

Year-to-date, sales were $144.4 million, up 27% compared to the first half of 2007. Net income reached $17.7 million, up 23% compared to the same six months last year.

Electronic Systems Division second-quarter sales were $14.7 million, down 12% from the year ago period. Operating income was $1.2 million, down 51%. Year-to-date, sales for the division were down 10% year-over-year to $28 million, while operating income was $1.9 million, down 62%.

The firm expects weaker third-quarter electronic systems sales compared to last year’s strong performance.

Flow Controls Division second-quarter sales grew 93% from a year ago, reaching $22.7 million. Operating income for the three months jumped 172%, to $7.1 million. In the most recent six months, revenues expanded 82%, reaching $57.6 million. Operating income reached $20.6 million, up 112% compared to last year's first half.
 

ROLLING MEADOWS, IL – BEST Inc. will celebrate its grand reopening on Sept. 24 at 3:30 pm. The BESTFest event will take place at the firm’s newly renovated 25,000 sq. ft. headquarters in Rolling Meadows, IL.

The celebration will feature games, contests, food and tropical drinks.

RSVP to Laura Ripoli at lripoli@solder.net.

BEST specializes in BGA and PCB rework services, and offers products that streamline hand soldering, rework and repair.

BEIJING – China’s handset production is expected to surpass 605 million units in 2008, up about 9% year-over-year, according to CCID Consulting.

About 66% of those handsets will be exported to markets overseas, said the firm.

The production of handsets reached 279 million units in the region for the first half of this year; the global top-five – Nokia, Samsung Electronics, Motorola, Sony Ericsson and LG Electronics – represented 65% of that total, said CCID.

Sales reached 96.4 million units in the first half, up 17.5% compared to the same period in 2007, according to CCID.