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Cambridge, UK --In the past, RFID smart cards have been successful only as transport cards – typically for buses or trains in place of tickets and often for several modes of transport. In 2005, this started to change with about 20 million credit and debit RFID cards being issued in the US.
IDTechEx forecast a boom in RFID smart cards and related payment key fobs as a result of the reduced cost of the latest contactless card systems resulting in lower cost of ownership and the demand for new national identification cards.

Government/ health cards became increasingly popular in 2005, and are predicted to be the smart card success story of 2006, with increases of 42% forecast. A number of government ID and health card projects, implemented in countries such as Oman, Australia, Austria and Belgium, led to an increased demand for both memory and microprocessor cards in 2005, especially microprocessors.This demand shows little sign of slowing, according to IDTechEx. However, many use contact technology which is not RFID and is unreliable and user unfriendly compared to RFID. e-Passport projects – all using RFID technology – showed strong development in 2005, particularly in Europe where some reached the pilot and implementation stages. These schemes in particular are forecast to drive the sector growth in 2006.

China will issue about 970 million cards to adults by 2008 if its plan is met, then issue only replacements and cards for those becoming adults in subsequent years. Transport smart cards in 2006 include Korea completing the replacement of 20 million with a new version that has both contact and contactless interfaces. The new contacted interface is to deal with bank payment systems.

SARATOGA, CA – The U.S.’s gross domestic product is not a leading indicator for the performance of the semiconductor industry, according to analysis conducted by Advanced Forecasting.

The firm found that the GDP’s value as a leading indicator was only relevant during five out of the 16 years investigated.

“The GDP’s historical year-over-year quarterly growth rate correlated well with IC revenues from the end of 2000 to the end of 2004 with a three-month lead, but no correlation exists during the periods 1990 through 2000 and 2005 through the present,” said Rosa Luis, director of marketing and sales.

“Continuing to use the GDP as a predictive tool for the semiconductor industry today may greatly mislead decision-makers.”

The 2001recession was an anomaly with disastrous results for numerous U.S. industries including metal fabrication, construction materials and automobiles. The same analysis conducted on IC revenues was performed on each of the aforementioned industries with similar results for the 2000 through 2004 period.

In the years prior and following this period, the correlations vary from non-existent to strong. Conclusion: Due to the strength and depth of the 2001 recession, many industry segments were similarly affected. Each experienced the increasing growth rates leading up to a peak in 2000 and a severe decline following that peak.

The dot.com recession was an outlier. The fact that IC revenues matched GDP (with a lag of three months) wasn’t unique to the semiconductor industry, and like in other industries, this phenomenon vanished afterward. Therefore, continued use of the GDP as a predictive tool for the IC industry based on the strong correlation during that period is risky.

HIALEAH, FL -- Simclar Inc., a contract electronics manufacturer, will restate its 2005 finances due to accounting errors in its Mexican operations.

The company stated that it is still investigating whether these errors will also affect its financial statements for the quarter ended March 31, 2006.

SPOKANE, WA -- EMS provider Key Tronic reported fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of $52.5 million, up 13.1% sequentially and down 1.3% from the fiscal fourth quarter of 2005. Net income was $7.1 million, up from $917,000 sequentially and $2.8 million in Q4 2005.

For the fiscal year, revenue was $187.7 million, down 7.5%, and net income was up 55.2% to $9.8 million.

Kortrijk, Belgium – IPTE has signed a Letter of Intent to perhaps acquire the EMS activities of Barco Manufacturing Services. The surface-mount division for sale has sites in Belgium and the Czech Republic and employs approx. 400 people. The group generated 60 million Euro in sales last year.

IPTE is looking to expand its Connect Systems activities, while Barco had previously announced a strategy to not invest further in subcontracting activity.

San Jose, CA - SiliconPipe has secured its first use license agreement, with a company that wishes to remain anonymous.

The new licensee will have access to the company’s full technology portfolio which includes innovations in interconnections, substrates, IC packages, connectors, sockets, embedded passives, test and ESD protection as well as novel memory architecture that the company believes will allow for standard DDR2 memory to operate at 12.8Gbps and beyond.

"We are extremely pleased that we were able to strike this first use agreement and we at SiliconPipe are looking forward playing a small role in the future of success of this pioneering company by way of their use of SiliconPipe technology," said co-founder and CEO Joseph Fjelstad. "We have previously licensed certain manufacturers, most notably the advanced assembly foundry NexGen Electronics to build products for user evaluation, but this represents the first company seeking to explore use and deployment of certain of SiliconPipe's diverse technology.”

Oyster Bay, NY - EDGE-enabled handsets have never attracted the same levels of attention that technologies such as WCDMA and HSDPA have enjoyed. However, recent forecasts from ABI Research indicate that the worldwide EDGE handset market will reach 148 million shipments in 2006, representing 14% of the total mobile phone market.

Principal analyst Stuart Carlaw notes, "EDGE is downplayed in the market because it cannot really provide a mobile broadband experience and is therefore not seen as being at the cutting edge of cellular handset evolution; it is viewed purely as an evolutionary step on the GSM ladder, and industry attention is very much focused on the newer technologies. That view is further compounded by the fact that operators do not actively report EDGE numbers in the public domain."

"However," adds research director Jake Saunders, "This lack of general market attention belies the real importance of the role EDGE plays in delivering mobile services today and will play in the effective delivery of content in the network of tomorrow."

Apart from the sheer volume of handsets, ABI analysts believe that the industry as a whole should pay more attention to this market because it is the only choice for some carriers to support any type of near-acceptable mobile broadband experience, especially those with no 3G licenses or those waiting for 4G.

Carlaw adds, "When the prospects for EDGE are viewed in the context of next generation networks, its true value comes to light. The technology still represents the only viable choice for supporting seamless service delivery on a very wide area basis. Neither WiMAX nor LTE nor HSUPA will be rolled out with enough geographic coverage to guarantee minimum service requirements on a wide scale."

ESCONDIDA, CHILE -- A workers' strike at the world's largest copper mine has pushed copper prices higher by 2% on the London Metals Exchange this week.

BHP's copper mine in Escondida, Chile, has slashed output to about 50% of capacity, the company said, following the August 6 walkout.

SAN JOSE – North American-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $1.75 billion in orders in July (three-month average basis) and a book-to-bill ratio of 1.06 according to SEMI.

A book-to-bill of 1.06 means that $106 worth of orders were received for every $100 of product billed for the month.

Rancho Santa Margarita, CA – Valor Computerized Systems has appointed Dan Weitzman as vice president of sales, North America, and Howard Rupprecht as director of marketing.

Weitzman has been with the company for seven years, most recently serving as senior account manager.

Prior to joining Valor, Rupprecht worked at OK International for 12 years, initially European-based in various product management and business development roles and then more recently located in the U.S. as vice VP of marketing.

“We are pleased to announce the appointment of Dan to lead Valor’s sales operations for the North American region,” said Ori Braun, president. “Exciting times are ahead as we rollout a number of new product introductions. The first one, to be launched within a few months, is a platform that will allow our customers to unlock the power of DFM collaboration with their clients and contractors. It will add to the overall value of our solutions and will open new opportunities for us to continue our current growth trend.”

“Howard’s experience and knowledge in the industry provides him with the specific expertise we want our management team to possess. He has a firm understanding of the electronics industry and extensive experience in managing marketing departments on a regional and global scale, which will help us to maintain our competitive edge and continue to grow market share,” added Braun.

SAN FRANCISCO – Fabrinet this fall will break ground on a factory that will effectively double the EMS firm’s manufacturing capability, Circuits Assembly has learned.

TOKYO -- Toyota will reportedly sign a deal under which Hon Hai Precision Industry, also known as Foxconn, will build electronics for the Japanese automaker. No further details are available.

The roots of the agreement come from a strategic decision by Hon Hai chief executive and founder Terry Guo to hire several former Toyota executives, according to the United Daily News.