Electronics Supply Chain Weekly Digest 10-2-26.
DATAPOINT OF THE WEEK: S&P reported September Eurozone mfg PMI increase to 52.9 from 52.7 in August, remaining in expansion for the eighth consecutive month, with both production and new orders increasing at its fastest rate in 4.5 years.
S&P noted capacity is constraining with backlogs increasing and lead times expanding. Germany’s mfg PMI declined to 53.9 from 54.3 in August, remaining in expansion as production and new orders improved for the fourth consecutive month. S&P reported US mfg PMI soared in September to 55.9 from 53.9 in August, marking the fourteenth straight month of expansion with production and new orders reaccelerating after growing at their slowest rate since February in August.
ISM US mfg PMI slightly declined to 54.5 from 54.6 in August. Ratings China mfg PMI increased to 52.1 from 51.5 in August, marking the tenth straight month of expansion as output and new orders continue to grow with the latter seen supported by customers looking to build safety stock. China’s Government mfg PMI returned to expansion territory at 50.1 from 49.8 in August.
Headlines:
Auto/Transportation
- BMW announces restructuring plan centered on AI, management cuts, and new model launches to revive margins
- BYD September sales rose 17% Y/Y as export boom offsets weak domestic demand, as reported by Reuters
- Cox Automotive study finds US consumer familiarity with autonomous vehicles rose to 58% in 2026 from 40% in 2016
- Ford announces Q3 wholesale impact from unnamed F-150 supplier disruption affecting Michigan and Kansas City truck plants
- Ford CEO warns Western automakers against underestimating Chinese EV makers, says Europe is already too late
- GM cuts Chevrolet Bolt EV production by about 75% as federal EV support unwinds, Reuters reported
- GM announces 3Q US sales fell 5.5% Y/Y as high gasoline prices weigh on new vehicle demand
- US Senate bill to ban Chinese-owned vehicles to be reworked to spare Mercedes-Benz and other Geely-linked automakers
- Rivian posts record 3Q deliveries on R2 ramp, reaffirms FY26 delivery outlook of 65K-70K vehicles
- Tesla September registrations climb across European markets, extending rebound after two-year sales slump, Reuters reported
- Volvo Cars pulls FY sales guidance on worsening China demand and slow US premium recovery
- VW terminates wage deals covering 100K German workers, raising strike risk from January 1, according to Reuters
Datacenter
- Anthropic files for IPO at potential $2T-plus valuation as compute costs triple and losses widen, according to Reuters
- Anthropic’s $518B AI compute buildout rests largely on non-cancelable commitments, Reuters filing review shows
- AWS announces $1B five-year investment in US datacenter communities amid more than 100 local moratoriums under consideration
- Amazon reportedly seeks to offload $8B of Nvidia Grace Blackwell chips to lighten its balance sheet, per Financial Times
- Tencent reportedly signs $7B five-year lease with Oracle for 100K AI chips to bypass China export curbs, per Financial Times
Connectivity
- AT&T announces $3B-plus multi-year fiber and cable supply deal with Corning to support network buildout
- HPE announces raised long-term networking growth outlook to high teens on AI demand and $1.2B AMD rack order from Vultr
Industrial
- Caterpillar announces $1B North Carolina expansion for compact equipment as datacenter buildout drives orders
Semiconductors
- AMD announces $8.2B all-stock deal to acquire World Labs for physical AI research
- Infineon announces opening of $1.4B back-end semiconductor plant in Thailand for EV, energy storage, and datacenter chips
- Infineon announces SiC power device supply deal with Eaton for medium-voltage solid-state transformers targeting 800VDC AI datacenter architectures
- Micron announces F1Q26 revenue guidance well ahead of expectations, with HBM capacity sold out through 2026
- Nvidia reportedly in early talks with insurers to backstop chip-collateralized loans to neocloud customers, as reported by Yahoo Finance
- Resonac announces Japan’s first 300mm SiC substrate, quadrupling chip yield vs mainstream 150mm wafers
- TSMC reportedly weighs Texas investment on top of its $265B Arizona chipmaking commitment, as reported by Reuters
- Vanguard and NXP announce opening of their $6.7B VSMC fab in Singapore, with capacity fully booked ahead of early 2027 ramp
Consumer/Other
- Apple reportedly plans Oct 13 smart-home push with new hub, refreshed HomePod mini, and updated Apple TV, per Bloomberg News
