Purchasing articles from May 2003

Purchasing archives from May 2003

Electronics Business Indicator. (Tip Sheet).(Brief Article)(Illustration)
May 15, 2003... Nearly half of electronics buyers say business improved last month, but it's not yet translating into stronger demand for components. With prices still sliding, spot buying remains the norm. [GRAPH OMITTED] Components demand remains...

Good news for semiconductor buyers. (Tip Sheet).(Brief Article)
May 15, 2003... Good news for semiconductor buyers. Capital spending by semiconductor companies will increase 15% this year. Much of that spending will be for new 300mm wafer fabs which produce more chips per wafer. The top 25 semiconductor companies will...

Expect greater price pressure on nand flash memory. (Tip Sheet).(Brief Article)
May 15, 2003... Expect greater price pressure on nand flash memory. Reason: ST Microelectronics has decided to enter the flash fray. The semiconductor company says it will jointly develop nand flash memory with Hynix Semiconductor. The two companies expect to...

Expect the application specific integrated circuit (ASICs) market to post growth over the next three years. (Tip Sheet).(Brief Article)
May 15, 2003... Expect the application specific integrated circuit (ASICs) market to post growth over the next three years, but then slide after that. The ASICs market will grow from $11.7 billion in 2002 to $13.7 billion in 2005, according to ISuppli....

Samsung Electronics is expanding its DRAM making capability in the U.S. (Tip Sheet).(Brief Article)
May 15, 2003... Samsung Electronics is expanding its DRAM making capability in the U.S. The company says it will upgrade its Austin, Texas fab from 0.13 micron process technology to 0.09 micron. The company will invest about $500 million over the next three...

The Semiconductor Industry Association has scaled back its forecast for the year. (Tip Sheet).(Brief Article)
May 15, 2003... The Semiconductor Industry Association has scaled back its forecast for the year. The trade group had earlier predicted that chip revenue would rise 19% for the year. The SIA now says chip revenue will grow between 10-15%.

Intel has cut the price of its Celeron chips. (Tip Sheet).(Brief Article)
May 15, 2003... Intel has cut the price of its Celeron chips. The chip company reduced the price of its Celeron 1.4 GHz microprocessor by 19% to $103 and its 2.3 GHz MPU by 24% to $89. The 2.2 GHz Celeron price was cut to $83, a 19% drop and the 2.1 GHz...

Use industry-wide information to maximize the value of supply chain applications. (Tip Sheet).
May 15, 2003... Use industry-wide information to maximize the value of supply chain applications and move products to market faster, says Chris Henry, VP and general manager for Arrow Electronics' Global Information Business at PURCHASING'S online Global...

90-Day Semiconductor Price Expectations. (Prices).(Brief Article)(Illustration)
May 15, 2003... Semiconductor prices will be stable to down, according to buyers' 90-day trend forecasts. In April, the percentage of chip buyers predicting declining exceeded the percentage predicting hikes. [GRAPH OMITTED] Electronics buyers'...

Worldwide PC shipments totaled 34.5 million units in the first quarter--5.5% higher than the same period last year. (Prices).(Brief Article)
May 15, 2003... Worldwide PC shipments totaled 34.5 million units in the first quarter--5.5% higher than the same period last year, and all because of deep discounting. "Worldwide first quarter 2003 results were slightly ahead of expectations, but do not...

Palm has unveiled new low-priced versions of consumer and business-oriented personal digital assistants (PDAs). (Prices).(Brief Article)
May 15, 2003... Palm has unveiled new low-priced versions of consumer and business-oriented personal digital assistants (PDAs). The Milpitas, Calif.-based company took the wraps off of the Zire 71 and Tungsten "C" handheld computers, which both operate on Palm...

Fargo Electronics executives report seeing aggressive price competition for desktop plastic card personalization systems. (Prices).(Brief Article)
May 15, 2003... Fargo Electronics executives report seeing aggressive price competition for desktop plastic card personalization systems. The Minneapolis firm says global economic conditions have made the short-term selling environment challenging.

Computer drive manufacturers have finally gotten control of the supply side and are closer to achieving a balance with actual market demand. (Prices).(Brief Article)
May 15, 2003... Computer drive manufacturers have finally gotten control of the supply side and are closer to achieving a balance with actual market demand. That's why storage drive prices actually increased by an average $8 per unit, says analyst Bill Bernard...

Spot natural gas prices will remain above $5 per million BTU in North America. (Prices).(Brief Article)
May 15, 2003... Spot natural gas prices will remain above $5 per million BTU in North America, and a hot summer could drive prices closer to $6, says analyst John Bridges at J.R Morgan Securities. "Easier permitting for new natural gas-powered generation...

The liquid crystal display industry's strategic shift to 17-inch and larger panels has produced a shortage. (Prices).(Brief Article)
May 15, 2003... The liquid crystal display industry's strategic shift to 17-inch and larger panels has produced a shortage and an increase in prices for 15-inch panels that has angered buyers. Attempts by LCD suppliers to steer customers to more expensive,...

Electronics Forward Demand Indicator. (Economy).(Illustration)
May 15, 2003... Forty-eight percent of electronics buyes say they'll purchase more overall in the coming 90 days. Unfortunately, they're not planning to increase demand for high-tech components. See full Business Survey report on page 30 of this issue. Up...

With the dust settling in Iraq, many analysts are suggesting that first-quarter economic weakness in U.S. growth was less a function of war. (Economy).(Brief Article)
May 15, 2003... With the dust settling in Iraq, many analysts are suggesting that first-quarter economic weakness in U.S. growth was less a function of war, more a function of such structural fundamentals as continued weak employment, high consumer...

The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index (1985=100) rallied strongly in April. (Economy).(Brief Article)
May 15, 2003... The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index (1985=100) rallied strongly in April, rising nearly 20 points on a 23-point gain in the Expectations Index and a 14-point rise in the Present Situation Index. Still, repeated analyses have failed...

Number of industrial companies cutting capital spending has exceeded the number increasing for eight consecutive quarters, according to the National Association of Business Economists (NABE). (Economy).(Brief Article)
May 15, 2003... Number of industrial companies cutting capital spending has exceeded the number increasing for eight consecutive quarters, according to the National Association of Business Economists (NABE). Looking ahead, however, the picture may be...

"A progressive if unspectacular world [economic] recovery as the most likely scenario," says the latest Economic Outlook from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). (Economy).(Brief Article)
May 15, 2003... "A progressive if unspectacular world [economic] recovery as the most likely scenario," says the latest Economic Outlook from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). OECD forecast highlights: U.S. GDP will grow 2.5% in...

Microsoft has agreed to make some Windows protocols available to other companies for use in server products to simplify license agreements. (Supply).(Brief Article)
May 15, 2003... Microsoft has agreed to make some Windows protocols available to other companies for use in server products to simplify license agreements, lower initial license costs and simplify software to meet the needs of individual businesses. This is...

Federal bankruptcy court in April approved International Steel Group's acquisition of Bethlehem Steel Corp.'s assets for more than $1 billion in cash and stock. (Supply).(Brief Article)
May 15, 2003... Federal bankruptcy court in April approved International Steel Group's acquisition of Bethlehem Steel Corp.'s assets for more than $1 billion in cash and stock. The deal includes Bethlehem's steelmaking assets in Burns Harbor, Ind.; Sparrows...

Analyst Steve Mather at Sanders Morris Harris says that commercial aviation purchasing has worsened. (Supply).(Brief Article)
May 15, 2003... Analyst Steve Mather at Sanders Morris Harris says that commercial aviation purchasing has worsened, and now forecasts Boeing's aircraft deliveries will decline to 285 in 2003 from 380 in 2002. Mather says aerospace industry sales are being...

Philippe Varin, new CEO of troubled Anglo-Dutch steel producer Corus Group, supports the sale of its aluminum products division blocked earlier by the Dutch supervisory board. (Supply).(Brief Article)
May 15, 2003... Philippe Varin, new CEO of troubled Anglo-Dutch steel producer Corus Group, supports the sale of its aluminum products division blocked earlier by the Dutch supervisory board. Varin, former senior executive vice president for French aluminum...

Security is one of the few bright spots in terms of new technology spending for respondents to a recent survey performed by In-Stat/MDR. (Supply).(Brief Article)
May 15, 2003... Security is one of the few bright spots in terms of new technology spending for respondents to a recent survey performed by In-Stat/MDR, the high-tech market research firm. Security has shown up as a top priority and has more to do with the...

North American shipments of AC/DC switching power supplies have declined dramatically in recent years. (Supply).(Brief Article)
May 15, 2003... North American shipments of AC/DC switching power supplies have declined dramatically in recent years. The VDC technology market research firm sees continuing decline in shipments through 2003, followed by slight growth in 2004 shipments--as...

Defense Department's newly formed Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance means big business for the U.S. oil-services industry. (Supply).(Brief Article)
May 15, 2003... Defense Department's newly formed Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance means big business for the U.S. oil-services industry, says analyst Kevin Plumberg at Multex.com. Potential contracts to restore some of Iraq's 3,000 oil...

Electronics prices appear mostly steady--for now. (Electronics Transaction Prices).
May 15, 2003... It may be short-term, but prices for electronic components appeared to have stabilized somewhat in April, according to PURCHASING magazine's monthly survey of prices and business conditions. Few price changes were reported and those were...

Strike while the iron is hot. (Inside Purchasing).(strategic sourcing changes)
May 15, 2003... Remember total quality management? Activity-based costing? Business-process reengineering? All hot management concepts in the late 1980s and early 1990s that faded from view as economic conditions changed, global trade balances shifted,...

Expect a price war for nand flash as demand grows. (Memory ICs).
May 15, 2003... It's no secret that flash memory has weathered the industry downturn better than most semiconductors. Demand for flash is growing as it is used in cell phones and consumer electronics equipment such as digital cameras and MP3 players. The...

Benchmark performance against the best-in-class. (Time-to-Value).
May 15, 2003... When considering investment supply management software, first take a pulse of your organization's performance. No matter where you think you are, conduct benchmarking with comparably sized companies in a variety of different industries....

Mine archives for great ideas. (Global Procurement Conference).(Purchasing magazine's premier Global Procurement Conference archived at www.globalprocurement.purchasing.com)
May 15, 2003... PURCHASING magazine's premier Global Procurement Conference, which ran on April 16th and 17th, is now archived at www.globalprocurement.purchasing.com and will be available for free access through July. Conference sessions feature innovative...

Agile, Arrow form joint venture. (Electronics Distribution).(Agile Software, Arrow Electronics)(Brief Article)
May 15, 2003... Agile Software and Arrow Electronics' Global Information Business have formed a joint venture which will make it easier for purchasers to get access to information about electronic components. Under the venture, Agile's Product Lifecycle...

Sourcing software? An expert offers how-to tips. (IT Procurement Best Practices).
May 15, 2003... Karen Fedele uses the term "quarterback" to describe purchasing's role in the software buy. She says, purchasing "coordinates all the different players involved in the process to secure, implement and manage the contract." Other players may...

New process reduces cost for membrane switches. (Switches).(Bergquist Co.)(Brief Article)
May 15, 2003... The Bergquist Company has developed a new high-efficiency screen printing process for its line of membrane switches that provides a more accurate layer of alignment and reduces cost. The process is based on a proprietary dry film adhesive...

ASICs to post short-term growth. (Semiconductors).(application specific integrated circuits)(Brief Article)
May 15, 2003... Application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) will post healthy growth over the next three years. However, long-term buyers can expect fewer ASICs to appear on bills of materials. The increasing costs in terms of both money and time to...

Signs of life. (Electronics & Technology News).(Electronics buyers)(Brief Article)
May 15, 2003... Electronics buyers reported in April that business was beginning to pick up, according to PURCHASING magazine's monthly survey of business conditions. Forty-two percent said that business was improving, compared to 33% in March. Thirty percent...

Price alert.(Brief Article)
May 15, 2003... Expect prices for synchronous DRAM to rise for the rest of the year. Reason: DRAM suppliers are cutting back production as they transition more production to double data rate DRAMS. At the same time, buyers can expect prices for DDR parts to...

Who will survive? Distributors are hoping for at least single-digit growth in 2003 with good reason. Another year of negative growth will mean further consolidation. (Top 75 Electronics Distributors).(Editorial)
May 15, 2003... Electronics distributors don't like to admit it, but 2002 was one of the worst years in their history. Revenue for the Top 75 distributors fell 22.4% from $26 billion in 2001 to $20.4 billion in 2002. Of the top 75 distributors, 62 had...

Can electronics distributors rebound in 2003? (Trends in Distribution).
May 15, 2003... The distribution industry was hard hit by weak demand, excessive inventories and sinking component prices for a second consecutive year in 2002. Computer product specialists saw the worst decline, but there was plenty of misery to go around....

Distributors focus heavily on value-added services. (Top 75 Electronics Distributors).
May 15, 2003... Distributors are still placing bets that value-added services and new products will drive growth in 2003. About 28.2% or $5.7 billion of the top 75 electronic distributors sales were derived from value-added services last year. That's down From...

Avnet retains top spot for third consecutive year. (Top 75 Electronics Distributors).(Brief Article)
May 15, 2003... Avnet is the leading distributor in North American sales with $5.1 billion in 2002 revenue, down from $6.5 billion in 2001. The company's worldwide sales fell to $8.9 billion in 2002 from $10.6 the previous year. Avnet believes that new service...

More sales needed to make the Top 75. (Top 75 Electronics Distributors).(Brief Article)
May 15, 2003... Distributors needed $7.2 million sales to make PURCHASING magazine's top 75 distribution ranking for 2002. In 2001, the cutoff was $6.5 million. Three new companies made the list this year. Chip-Tech Ltd. recorded $20.9 million in sales....

Online buying on the rise. (Top 75 Electronics Distributors).(Brief Article)
May 15, 2003... Sales transactions via the Web are still a very small portion of distribution's revenue, generating from 1%--23% of total sales, according to PURCHASING magazine's survey. Of the top 75, 41 distributors offer online buying, compared with 39 in...

Top 10 distributors' compound annual growth rate. (Top 75 Electronics Distributors).(Brief Article)(Illustration)
May 15, 2003... Top 10 distributors' compound annual growth rate Digi-Key takes number one slot (Top 10 distributors' compound annual growth rate for 1998-2002) Digi-Key 14.0% Bell Microproducts 10.8% All...

Bringing e-sourcing to a decentralized spend: General Dynamics leverages in-house supply chain group to bring diverse $8.3 billion spend online. (E-Sourcing Ideas).
May 15, 2003... Many e-sourcing users have gone on record as saying their e-sourcing efforts were driven by a larger strategic sourcing initiative within the organization. And often that strategic sourcing initiative involves centralizing more of the...

Need help managing costs? Distributors can lend hand. (Office Supplies Distribution).
May 15, 2003... One way office supplies distributor Staples is helping customers cut costs is by eliminating returns. Returns are viewed as an annoyance by customers and can be costly for distributors to process. Beginning this spring, the company is testing a...

Konica unveils flagship. (Multifunction Products).(Konica Business Technologies U.S.A. Inc.)(Brief Article)
May 15, 2003... Konica Business Technologies U.S.A. Inc. has introduced the flagship of its color product line the Konica ColorFORCE 8050 imaging system. Designed for cost-effective color and black and white on demand printing for high volume workgroups and...

What's hot. (Logistics).(Port Protection Act of 2003)(Brief Article)
May 15, 2003... A new port security measure introduced to Congress is making some waves in the logistics world. The Port Protection Act of 2003 was introduced in late February by Rep. Jerrold Nadler of New York and would require every cargo container destined...

The happy marriage between process and technology. (Transportation Technology).(Hayes Lemmerz, Newell Rubbermaid)
May 15, 2003... Transportation and technology are something akin to high school sweethearts in that we always knew they'd end up together, even if it has taken longer than expected. But partnering the two requires getting the right business practices in place...

Key Supplier Web-Site Locator.(various companies, industries)(Directory)
May 15, 2003... ADHESIVES, SEALANTS AND COATINGS Master Bond Inc. www.masterbond.com Master Bond Inc. manufacturers over 3,000 grades of adhesives, sealants, coatings, potting compounds and impregnation resins. Products include epoxies,...

Leadtimes fall back. (Electronics Leadtimes).(electronic components)(Illustration)
May 15, 2003... Leadtimes for 28 of 41 electronic components tracked by PURCHASING shrunk in April from the month before. The rolling back of leadtimes indicates weak overall demand carrying over from the first quarter. Demand is usually weakest in the first...