Electronics Supply Chain Weekly Digest 9-4-26.
DATAPOINT OF THE WEEK: S&P reported August Eurozone mfg PMI increase to 52.7 from 51.9 in July, remaining in expansion for the seventh consecutive month, with production growth accelerating for the third strait month driven by continued increases in new order and renewed export demand.
Germany’s August mfg PMI soared to 54.3 from 52.2 in July, remaining in expansion as production, similar to the Eurozone PMI, rose at its fastest rate in 4.5 years, with new orders improving on defense, datacenter, and inventory replenishment demand. S&P reported US mfg PMI did not change in August from the 53.9 reported in July and June, marking the thirteenth straight month of expansion but production rose at its slowest rate since February, though new order growth remains stable.
ISM US mfg PMI declined to 54.6 from 55.6 in July. Ratings China mfg PMI increased to 51.5 from 50.9 in July, marking the ninth straight month of expansion as new order and output growth reaccelerated after slowing for the past four months. China’s Government mfg PMI remains in contraction territory but increased to 49.8 from 49.2 in July.
Headlines:
Auto/Transportation
- BYD’s overseas shipments more than double in August as export mix cushions China EV price war
- Honda orders suppliers to cut prices 30% and shift to Chinese-made parts in $9B cost push to counter BYD, according to Reuters
- Honda and Nissan to co-develop standardized ECUs and software stack for FY29 vehicles as Chinese SDV pressure mounts
- Polestar cuts full-year delivery outlook after US ban forces China-linked EV maker out of the market
- Stellantis nears Maserati co-development deal with Huawei and JAC on Harmony Intelligent Mobility platform, according to Milano Finanza
- Tesla’s China-made EV growth slows as local rivals erode Shanghai output share to 6.6%, per Reuters
- Automakers push US Congress to ban Chinese vehicles from American market before year-end, escalating connected-car sourcing fight, according to Reuters
- VW approves sweeping restructuring adding 50K job cuts and halving model lineup by 2035
- VW management proposes shutting four German plants between 2031 and 2034 in major domestic capacity retreat, WirtschaftsWoche reported
- Zoox and Waymo expand US robotaxi footprints to 12 and 14 cities as driverless competition intensifies
Datacenter
- PwC forecasts global datacenter spending will hit $31.6T through 2050, with recurring chip upgrades driving most of the outlay, according to Bloomberg
- Dell lifts FY27 AI server revenue outlook to $74B and hikes full-year sales guide by $25B on neocloud demand
Semiconductors
- EPFL POWERlab unveils GaN-on-silicon iPSJ transistor holding 4kV, more than 5x commercial GaN devices, targeting AI datacenter and renewables power conversion, according to Electronics Weekly
- ASML to grow Japan headcount 40% to 700 by 2030 to support Rapidus 2nm ramp and TSMC’s second Kumamoto fab
- Broadcom lifts FY27 AI chip revenue forecast to $115B and guides FY28 to double as hyperscaler bookings surge
- Flex to acquire EPC Power for $4.4B to bolster 800V AI datacenter power portfolio ahead of CPI spinoff
- Google doubles TPU release cadence to two per year as Alphabet lifts 2026 capex guidance to $195B-$205B
- Hua Hong commits $2B to new 12-inch specialty foundry line in Wuxi, adding 55K wafers/month as utilization hits 102.8%, according to EE Times China
- Infineon and Skeleton Technologies partner on SSTs and GaN peak-shaving systems for AI datacenter power
- Micron faces potential strike at Taiwan operations as unions demand profit-sharing overhaul tied to 15% of operating profit
- Chinese court freezes $300M of Nexperia assets in escalation of Wingtech’s fight to reclaim control of the Dutch chipmaker, per Nikkei Asia
- Nvidia lines up Lenovo and Acer as first RTX Spark Windows PC OEMs for October launch
- Nvidia takes $3.5B stake in MediaTek convertibles in reciprocal supply-chain pact tying networking to XPU sourcing
- Qualcomm pushes through double-digit chip price hikes from September 1 as supplier cost pass-through hits Snapdragon customers, Says SemiMedia
- SEMI lifts semiconductor market forecast above $1.5T for 2026 and $2T by 2030 on AI datacenter buildout
- TSMC equipment demand jumps 90% in seven months as fab count under construction quadruples to nearly 20, according to Liberty Times
Consumer/Other
- Apple foldable iPhone output stuck at a few hundred units daily in late August, threatening 8-10M unit target, as reported by Nikkei Asia
- China rare earth firms halt some US shipments as geopolitical tensions strain the supply chain, according to Reuters
