SANTA CLARA, CA – The total global TV shipment outlook for 2011 has been reduced by about 3% to 252 million units, as demand in many developed countries continues to be soft, according to DisplaySearch.

TV shipments in North America are only expected to grow about 2% this year, after 4% growth in 2010, while Western European TV shipments will fall about 1.5%.

In addition, the Japanese TV market will decline more than 40% in 2011, although demand leading up to the July 24 analog broadcast shutoff has been better than expected, and may result in a slightly lower decline, says DisplaySearch.

“With so many consumers having traded up from CRT to flat panel TVs in developed markets like North America, Europe and Japan, we’ve been anticipating slower growth in demand for 2011,” noted Paul Gagnon, director of North America TV research for DisplaySearch. “Demand in emerging markets like China, Latin America, and India is continuing to grow strongly, with a relatively low level of flat panel TV household penetration.”

The CAGR for TV shipments in emerging regions is expected to be 6% from 2011 through 2015, but just 0.3% in developed regions. China will become the world’s largest flat panel TV market in 2011, overtaking North America and Europe with more than 46 million units shipped, and will hold that position throughout the forecast, says the firm.

LCD continues to increase its share of the TV market, at about 84% currently. LCD TV shipments are forecast to increase from 192 million in 2010 to 210 million this year. This is lower than the previous forecast of 217 million.

New technologies, like LED backlights and 3D, are helping to keep overall LCD TV prices stable in 2011, falling only 7% year-over-year on a volume weighted average basis, which in turn will keep revenue growth slightly positive. However, LCD TV revenues should start to decline around 2013, when these new features see a more significant drop in price premium. LED-backlit sets will account for about 46% of total 2011 LCD TV unit shipments, while 3D-capable sets account for 8%.

Plasma TV continues to be a relevant part of the global flat panel TV industry, but is seeing slowly shrinking market share as LCD continues to grow. This is particularly important in the 40 to 49" category, so plasma TV makers are likely to start focusing on 50"+ displays. Plasma’s share of the TV market will fall from about 7% of units shipped worldwide in 2011 to less than 5% by 2015, but maintain a 40 to 50% share of the 50"+ segment through the forecast, says DisplaySearch.
OLED is set to debut in late 2012 as a contender in the 40"+ category, but will only grow to about 2% of the 40"+ segment by 2015, as a result of high prices and limited availability.

Emerging regions, including China, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Eastern Europe and Middle East/Africa, will have the strongest flat panel TV growth during the next four years, averaging 17% growth per year. The Asia Pacific region is positioned for strongest growth, as the late-adopting India market begins to boom. By comparison, developed regions (North America, Japan, and Western Europe) will see no growth over the same time period.

3D TVs are expected to account for about 20 million in 2011, rising to more than 100 million shipped by 2015. Although some consumer confusion about technology and standards is likely to persist, the falling premium and cost associated with 3D will make it a standard feature of 40" and larger sets. In 2011, almost a quarter of 40" and larger TVs shipped worldwide will be 3D-capable, rising to 84% by 2015, says DisplaySearch.

SAN JOSE – DEK has appointed Brian Smith as general manager for electronic assembly (Americas), Jim Price as regional sales manager for electronic assembly (US West Coast), and Mike Burgess as process support products sales manager (North America).

Prior to joining DEK, Smith spent 14 years at Kester in the roles of business manager, director of product marketing and technology, and global sales and marketing manager.

Price, who will report to Smith, has more than 15 years’ experience building integrated sales operations, most recently with Sony Manufacturing Systems America as sales manager, SMT sales.

Burgess has previously worked in consultative sales with Canfield Technologies, AIM Solder, Photo Stencil and Cookson Electronics.

DEK provides screen printing equipment and processes.

NEW YORK – A recent China Labor Watch report reveals labor violations in Chinese electronics factories.

The 136-page report focuses on ten factories that supply finished manufactured electronic products to the likes of Dell, Salcomp, IBM, Ericsson, Philips, Microsoft, Apple, HP, Nokia and others. 

An investigation found that factory workers were required to work an excessive amount of overtime hours, especially during the peak manufacturing season.

All of the electronics factories investigated required staff to work between 36 and 160 hours of overtime per month. No one investigated factory was found to be in strict compliance with China’s labor laws regarding overtime hours, says CLW. In many cases, workers were coerced into working overtime hours ‘voluntarily’ to earn a monthly salary that would pay for basic living costs.

The minimum monthly wage found in nine investigated factories did not adequately provided workers with the financial means to afford basic living costs.

The level of labor intensity was found to be extremely high in all ten factories investigated. On one HP assembly line, workers were required to complete their assigned task every three seconds, while continually standing over a ten-hour period, says CLW. The high level of labor intensity left workers more prone to developing long-term occupational illness or injury.

Investigators found that many factories were signing coercive labor contracts with workers. In many cases, workers were not properly informed about the specific details of their contracts.

All ten factories investigated were found to have discriminatory recruiting practices, hiring only young and healthy candidates, while restricting against others based on age, gender, or medical condition, specifically those infected with Hepatitis B, according to CLW.

CLW believes the inhuman working conditions found in these factories not only reflect severe problems in China’s electronic manufacturing industry, but also reveal serious systematic problems in the international electronics industry as a whole. 

The investigations took place over an eight month period from October 2010 to June 2011; 408 workers were interviewed in Guangdong and Jiangsu provinces.
Investigators posed as workers to gain access into the factories.

For a full report, visit http://chinalaborwatch.org/pdf/20110712.pdf. 

GLENVIEW, IL – Illinois Tool Works today reported second-quarter 2011 revenues of $4.62 billion, up 17.5% versus the year-ago period.

ELKHART, IN – CTS Corp. today posted second-quarter 2011 revenue of $146.9 million, up 6% year-over-year.

Net earnings were $4.1 million, down 30.5% compared to the second quarter of 2010.

Earnings decreased year-over-year primarily as a result of lower expected automotive sales from the disruption caused by the Japan earthquake. However, these sales shortfalls are anticipated to begin to recover in the fourth quarter, as OEM production ramps up and inventories are replenished, the firm says.

Components and Sensors segment sales decreased $4.2 million (6%) from the same quarter last year, primarily due to a 10% decrease in automotive product sales. Electronic component product sales were flat year-over-year. The company estimates second-quarter impact from the Japan earthquake on this segment’s sales was a decrease of approximately $6 million to $7 million.

EMS segment sales were up $12.3 million (18%) year-over-year, with increases reported across all markets served. This growth resulted from new program launches with existing and new customers, primarily driven by a 46% increase of sales into industrial markets.

 “While our second-quarter results were in line with expectations, we look forward to a stronger second half as we begin to launch new programs like piezoceramic elements for disk drive applications, a global pedal program and increased sales to our key Japanese automotive OEMs, who will begin to ramp up their production. Our key initiatives to further improve our cost structure include expanding our low cost facilities in Mexico and Thailand, and starting up a new manufacturing facility in India, which is slated to be operational later this year,” said Vinod M. Khilnani, CTS Chairman and CEO.

The firm maintains full-year 2011 guidance of a sales increase in the range of 9% to 13% over 2010.

CTS designs and manufactures electronic components and sensors, and provides electronics manufacturing services to OEMs in the automotive, communications, medical, defense and aerospace, industrial and computer markets.

BANNOCKBURN, IL – IPC has released the B revision of IPC-CH-65, Guidelines for Cleaning of Printed Boards & Assemblies.

SAN JOSE – Electronics manufacturing services provider Sanmina-SCI Corp. today reported third-quarter net sales of $1.67 billion, up 6.7% sequentially and 2.5% year-over-year.

Net income for the quarter was $7.2 million, down 66.7% compared to the same period in 2010.

FORT COLLINS, CO – FCT Assembly has relocated its operations here to a larger facility.

The 1,974 sq. ft. site allows the firm to bring in new equipment and capabilities to meet growing service demands. 

“We have expanded our operations in Fort Collins to accommodate the growth in both our FCT Assembly and FCT Recovery businesses,” said Mike Scimeca, president and CEO.

FCT Assembly manufactures Pb-free solder products, stencils and precision laser cut parts.

SCOTTSDALE, AZ – Small office (one to four employees) spending on broadband IP telephony will increase 83% from 2010 to 2015, says In-Stat.

“Broadband IP telephony offers a number of advantages for small businesses and SOHO; primary among them is the low monthly service fee and negligible costs for long distance,” says Greg Potter, research analyst. “Unfortunately it does not provide the scalability associated with hosted and IP PBX solutions. It also does not typically come with the service level agreements and quality-of-service afforded by other solutions, which are general requirements for enterprise and medium-sized businesses.”

Also, traditional TDM is set to decline to just under $14.5 billion in 2015.

Application-based VoIP will increase more than 50% from 2010 to 2015.

As a segment, mid-sized business (100 to 999 employees) spending will have the greatest growth, increasing in excess of 10% between 2010 and 2015.

And the professional services vertical market segment will spend more than $3 Billion in 2013, says the research firm.

HONG KONG – World Semiconductor Trade Statistics expects the global semiconductor market to increase 5.4% in 2011, 7.6% in 2012 and 5.4% in 2013.

The WSTS forecasts the semiconductor market to reach $338.4 billion in 2012, following an increase to $314.4 billion in 2011.

The industry is now expected to top $356.6 billion in 2013, with a three-year CAGR of 6.13% from 2010 to 2013.

In 2010, the industry recovery – driven by enterprise and consumer spending – resulted in 31.8% growth, totaling $298.3 billion. 

FRAMINGHAM, MA – Worldwide semiconductor revenues will grow 5% year-over-year in 2012 and will achieve a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6% through 2015, said International Data Corp. in its semiannual forecast.

TORONTO -- Celestica reported second-quarter net profits more than tripled over last year to $45.7 million, but said economic volatility would continue to affect customer demand.