Electronics Supply Chain Weekly Digest 08-25-23
DATAPOINT OF THE WEEK: S&P reported August Eurozone Flash mfg PMI of 43.7 vs. 42.7 in July and Germany mfg PMI of 39.1 vs 38.8 in July both reflecting a continued decline in output, new orders, and backlog, and stalling employment amid a gloomier outlook, which slid to the lowest level this year. Notably, the weakness in the mfg sector is seen spilling over to services with Eurozone services dipping below 50 for the first time since 2020. In Japan, August preliminary PMI came in at 49.7 vs 49.6 in July reflecting shrinking new orders and output for the third straight month. In the US, S&P flash PMI data deteriorated with August mfg PMI reading of 47.0 vs. 49.0 in July reflecting declines in output and new orders and purchases of input materials. US services PMI declined to 51.0 from 52.3, the lowest in 6 months but remained in expansionary territory.
Headlines:
Auto
- China retail auto sales projected to rebound M/M driven by additional OEM price cuts
- India and Indonesia considering lowering import tax for EVs in return for domestic investments from OEMs
- Germany vehicle demand is falling in the 2H23 and the market can cool down significantly by year-end says S&P Global
- German luxury brands seen initiating aggressive discounts in South Korea
- Tesla cuts its production target in its Germany plant
- Toyota is pausing production at its Czech factories due to shortages caused by a fire at a local plastic supplier
- Xiaomi has won the approval of China’s state planner to manufacture EVs
- VW has begun purchasing strategically important chips it believes will be in short supply globally directly from semi suppliers
- New vehicle sales in the US expected to show big gains Y/Y in August but a modest decline M/M
- UAW workers overwhelmingly voted in favor of a strike at Ford, GM, Stellantis, if deal is not reached
Datacenter
- AI servers forecasted to reach 337K units in 2024 say DigiTimes
- Server ODMs seen expanding footprint and capacity in SE Asia and Mexico
Industrial
- Siemens to start producing solar inverters in Kenosha, WI
Semiconductors
- ADI with soft results and outlook; sees inventory digestion continuing for 2-3 quarters
- MediaTek reportedly planning to use Intel’s 18A technology starting in 2025
- Nvidia reported 88% Q/Q growth in sales, projecting additional 25% in Oct-Q
- China OSATs seen reducing prices helped by additional government support
- Huawei reportedly building secret semi fab facilities in China, avoiding US sanctions
- Foundries in Taiwan and Korea have begun to temporarily turn off mature process lines due to weak demand
- China is importing record amounts of semi equipment
- Vishay signs agreement with Immersion to bundle Haptic technology licenses with IHPT series actuators
- TI announced low drift isolated Hall-effect current sensors for high voltage systems and shunt monitors
- Wolfspeed sells its RF business to MACOM for $125M
- Raw wafer spot prices seen continuing to fall in 2H
Consumer
- High-end iPhone 15 Pro Max may not be available until Oct due to a shortage of advanced lens components from Sony
- Demand for Appliances seen deteriorating further in China due to the ongoing property crisis
PC market is witnessing intense price pressure due to weak end demand despite the recent normalization of inventory