Electronics Supply Chain Weekly Digest 10-3-25.
DATAPOINT OF THE WEEK: S&P reported that the September Eurozone manufacturing PMI slipped to 49.8 from 50.7 in August, hitting a two-month low, as new orders edged down slightly despite production growth.
Amid market uncertainties, including tariffs, political instability in France and Spain, and a new government in Germany, some analysts view the PMI as holding up better than expected.
Germany’s manufacturing PMI also ticked down to 49.5 in September from 49.8 in August, driven by a decline in new orders that signals slower growth, even as output continued to rise for the seventh consecutive month. US PMI reached 52.0 in September, down from 53.0 August as output and new orders expanded at softer rates as tariffs continue to impact exports and drive costs higher. China Caixin PMI rose to 49.8 in September, up from 49.4 in August, though remains below growth threshold. The M/M improvement represents the intensified efforts from Beijing aimed to curb industrial overcapacity amid sluggish domestic demand and global trade disruptions.
Headlines:
Auto/Transportation
- BYD reports first quarterly sales decline in over five years, cuts 2025 target amid slowing EV demand in China
- China warns some automakers of inflated pre-sale orders as regulators step up oversight, according to Reuters
- China to require EV export licenses from 2026, favoring domestic leaders and curbing dumping
- China’s outbound EV investment slows, shifting from batteries to assembly and licensing deals, says Nikkei
- Chinese automakers hit record share of Europe’s hybrid and EV market, led by BYD and Leapmotor
- European auto suppliers push for local content rules to protect industry amid rising competition and job cuts
- UK government offers $2B loan guarantee to support Jaguar Land Rover supply chain after cyberattack
- Rivian beats 3Q deliveries but cuts full-year forecast amid EV tax credit expiry
- Tesla posts record quarterly deliveries but warns of potential slowdown after US EV tax credit expiry
- Trump cites US auto boom, but analysts see retooling, not new factories, amid weaker EV demand
- US automakers extend EV discounts after federal tax credit expiry to sustain sales amid demand concerns
- US EV sales surge in 3Q25 ahead of tax credit expiry, prompting automakers to extend incentives
- US auto sales hold up in 3Q on strong SUV, truck, and EV demand, led by Toyota, GM, and Ford
- ZF to cut 25% of electrified powertrain workforce by 2030 amid weak EV demand and high debt
Datacenter
- Citigroup raises AI infrastructure spend forecast to $2.8T through 2029, driven by hyperscalers and enterprise demand
- CoreWeave inks $14B cloud computing deal with Meta through 2031 to support AI infrastructure
Industrial
- US nuclear power set for $350B boom by 2050 to meet AI data center demand, led by small modular reactors, according to Bloomberg
IP&E
- Passive component makers trim inventories as AI-driven demand boosts usage and product upgrades, says DigiTimes
Semiconductors
- China to give domestic products 20% price advantage in government procurement from 2026 to boost local AI chipmakers, says DigiTimes
- GlobalFoundries partners with Zensemi to advance “China for China” chip strategy for automotive electronics
- Intel in early talks with AMD to potentially become a foundry customer, signaling foundry business expansion, according to Semafor
- MediaTek’s ASIC business faces uncertainty as Meta and Google orders encounter delays, amid rising competition, DigiTimes
- Meta to acquire chip startup Rivos to boost in-house AI semiconductor development
- Mitsubishi Electric completes $680M SiC power chip plant, boosts efficiency but delays major capacity expansion
- Qualcomm upgrades flagship chips to Arm v9 architecture to enhance AI performance, signaling partial reconciliation
- Samsung offers cheaper 2nm wafers to attract top clients, eyes Tesla AI6 chip deal amid TSMC capacity constraints
- SK Hynix and Samsung to supply OpenAI’s Stargate with up to 900k DRAM wafers monthly, focusing on AI and enterprise memory
- Toyota rebounds in China with affordable EVs and hybrids, plans new EV factory near Shanghai by 2027, says Bloomberg
- TSMC speeds up US expansion, third Arizona fab to start mass production in 2027 with advanced 2nm and angstrom nodes, according to Economic Daily News
- UMC to mandate 15% supplier price cuts from 2026 to protect margins amid weak automotive and mature-node demand, according to the Commercial Times
- Western Digital to invest $1B in Japan over five years to advance HDD tech and R&D collaborations, according to Nikkei
Consumer/Other
- EU plans to halve steel import quotas and raise tariffs to 50% to curb global oversupply, aligning with US and Canada
- Germany expects 15% US tariffs on pharmaceuticals and heavy trucks amid trade uncertainty