KLAGENFURT, AUSTRIA – CMS Electronics announced the expansion of its product portfolio with the establishment of a new subsidiary, PCBWhiz.

SAN FRANCISCO – Global sales of semiconductor manufacturing equipment by OEMs next year are forecast to bounce back from a projected contraction of 18.6% to $87.4 billion in 2023, SEMI announced in its Mid-Year Total Semiconductor Equipment Forecast. The expected 2024 recovery – to $100 billion – will be driven by both the front-end and back-end segments.

PEACHTREE CITY, GA – The Printed Circuit Engineering Association (PCEA) today opened the show floor to select exhibitors for next year’s PCB East conference and exhibition.

NEEDHAM, MA – Global PC shipments declined 13.4% year-on-year during the second quarter, according to preliminary results from IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker.

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM – Key segments of the European electronics manufacturing industry face significant challenges and require more support, according to a new report from IPC. 

WASHINGTON – Global semiconductor industry sales totaled $40.7 billion in May, an increase of 1.7% compared to the previous month but 21.1% less than the May 2022 total of $51.7 billion, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association.

PORTO, PORTUGAL – Critical Manufacturing has announced an expansion into Mexico to help meet the growing demands of American manufacturing systems.

ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA – Entech Electronics has announced factory expansions here and in Malaysia, where it is establishing for the first time.

TAIPEI – Foxconn announced a 13.8% year-on-year drop in second quarter revenue, but said the outlook for the third quarter was brighter ahead of peak shopping season at the end of the year.

STOCKHOLM – Note has expanded its manufacturing capacity in the UK with the acquisition of electronics manufacturer DVR.

ATLANTA – The overall electronic components sales sentiment improved by four points in June after a 14.5-point collapse in May, but the 76.3 index score for June is still below last year's average, ECIA reported in its monthly Electronic Component Sales Trend survey.

Random thoughts as the summer kicks in:

• Is anyone surprised the Foxconn investment in Lordstown Motors has run out of gas? It was an odd marriage in many ways – the world's largest ODM buying up the assets of a failing Midwestern automaker – but Foxconn took a similar approach with Sharp and, from a technical perspective, it gained crucial knowledge in electric vehicles, which it likely will need to keep its hooks in Apple, its biggest and most important customer, which almost assuredly is developing its own vehicle as a platform for its future software products.

Lordstown is now suing Foxconn over the breakup. Critics, on the other hand, are noting the long line of Foxconn promises that failed to materialize as planned and suggesting this was all too predictable.

• Speaking of Apple, the cellphone, and more precisely, the smartphone, may be the greatest consumer invention in the past 100 years. It's certainly among the most ubiquitous. About 68% of the world's citizens have smartphones, which given a global population of about 8.05 billion, suggests some 2.58 billion or so people are still walking around without an electronic device glued to their hands. (Bully for them.) While that means a huge market remains to be captured, the market share has been steady-state for the past five years.