Electronics Supply Chain Weekly Digest 2-16-24
DATAPOINT OF THE WEEK: New vehicle inventory in the US stood at 2.6M units at the end of January according to Cox Automotive data.
That compares to 2.66M units in Dec, 1.8M units last January, and pre-COVID avg inventory of 3.5M units. On a days basis inventory in the US jumped from 70 to 80, the highest since June 2020.
The increase in days reflects a slowdown in the pace of sales. Cox considers 60 days of supply to be normal. Pre-COVID avg has been in the 70 days range. By brand Ford, Audi, Nissan, Buick, Jeep, Infinity, and Ram had more than 100 days of inventory while Toyota and Honda days at 36 and 48 remained below the industry average.
Headlines:
Auto
- BYD plans new manufacturing plant in Mexico, targeting exports to US
- French government cut EV subsidies for low and high income earners
- Continental to cut 7500 jobs by 2025
- Lucid cut prices of its Air Luxury sedans
- Stellantis to invest €103M to expand its EV module facility in Hungary
- Tesla temporary cut Model Y prices in the US
- Average new vehicle transaction price in the US dropped 2.6% M/M in January
- Auto credit availability decline in January says Cox Automotive
- Audi, Bentley and Porsche cars upheld in US ports due Chinese electronic component breaching anti-labor law
Industrial
- Boeing planning to improve 737 Max production rate to 38 per month in 2H24
- Deer cuts its CY24 outlook citing weaker demand tied to high borrowing rates and falling crop prices
- Robotics sales declined 30% in 2023 according to Association for Advancing Automation
- US administration considering reducing F-35 jet orders by 18% in 2025
Datacenter
- Cisco lowered its annual revenue outlook and announced 5% workforce reduction
Semiconductors
- Applied Materials sees strong demand from advanced logic and memory
- GlobalFoundries gave cautious 1Q outlook citing ongoing inventory digestion and shift in demand to more advanced nodes
- Intel seeking to raise $2B for a new fab in Ireland
- Kioxia/Western Digital JV to receive $1.6B subsidy from the Japanese government
- Renesas to acquire PCB software design leader Altium for $5.9B in cash
- Tower Semis wants to build $8B fab in India
Other
- Sony cut PS5 unit forecast for the year ending March 2024 to 21M from 25M prior