Electronics Supply Chain Weekly Digest 11-3-23
DATAPOINT OF THE WEEK: S&P reported Eurozone October mfg. PMI of 43.1 vs 43.4 in September and Germany mfg. PMI of 40.8 vs 39.6 in September reflecting continued steep declines in new orders, purchasing activity, and output. The report also indicated the fastest reduction in factory employment since Aug 2020 as business confidence dropped to an 11-month low. In the US, S&P reported October mfg. PMI of 50.0 vs 49.8 in Sep, reflecting relative stability with slight increase in output and new orders but downward revisions to the year-ahead output expectations which resulted in reduced employment for the first time since July 202. ISM reading on US manufacturing in October was more subdued with PMI of 46.7 vs. 49 in Sep reflecting a faster pace of decline in orders, pricing, backlog, and employment, partially offset by stable output. In China, government official PMI unexpectedly slipped back into contraction territory at 49.5 in Oct vs 50.2 in Sept. That was echoed by the private Caixin PMI of 49.5 in October vs. 50.6 in September reflecting declines in employment and output due to muted end demand, particularly for exports.
Headlines:
Auto
- BorgWarner cuts its full-year sales outlook on lower EV sales; trims 2025 EV forecast
- BYD reported 38% increase in October xEV sales, outgrowing the market
- BMW more optimistic on Auto demand; won’t engage in price wars in EVs
- Global EV battery supply chain puzzles over China graphite curbs
- Lithium prices in China continue to decline in October says TrendForce
- Panasonic cut its full-year battery sales forecast on slower than expected sales of high-end EVs by Tesla
- Magna and Aptiv cut sales forecasts blaming UAW impact
- NEO plans to cut 10% of its workforce in the face of growing competition
- Stellantis and Canadian Union Unifor reached tentative agreement
- Toyota September global production reached record levels on increase Japan production
- Toyota trimmed its 2023 BEV sales forecast on China price war; pivots to Hybrids near-term
- Toyota to invest $8B in EV battery plant in North Carolina
- Tesla aiming 200,000 Cybertrucks per year; previously targeted 250,000
- Tesla’s Oct China-made EV sales fall 2.6% from Sept
- UAW strikes deals with GM and Stellantis ending 6 weeks of stallmate
- UAW gears up to organize at Toyota, other nonunion
- Volkswagen puts off east European gigafactory amid sluggish EV demand
Datacenter/Telco
- Broadcom expects to close VMware acquisition in November
Semiconductors
- Allegro MycroSystems completes acquisition of TMR sensor specialist Crosus
- AMD reports mixed results; sees $2B of AI sales in 2024
- Amkor guides 4Q down 8% Q/Q on decline in demand from Auto and Compute
- Infineon to work with battery specialist Eatron to advance MCU development
- China warms to U.S. chipmaker Micron, as tensions with Washington ease
- Microchip Technologies guides Dec-Q sales down 15-20% on weakening global demand; targets lead time at 8 weeks exiting the year
- US orders immediate halt to some AI chip exports to China, says Nvidia
- NXP expands wireless portfolio with WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity chips
- onsemi gave cautious 4Q outlook on softness in Auto and pushout of SiC orders from a large customer
- Powerchip plans a 12 inch fab in Japan
- Qualcomm, Skyworks, Quorvo signal improvement in smartphone chip demand
- Renesas releases ARM Cortex M85 processor
- Sep global semi sales up 1.9% M/M; 3Q sales up 6.3% Q/Q says SIA
- Samsung signaled memory market heading into recovery
- TI brakes ground of new 300mm fab in Lehi, Utah
- Vietnam eyes first semiconductor plant
- WDC announced plans to spin off its NAND business in 2H24 after a failed merger with Kioxia
- Silicon wafers projected to decline 14% in 2023 says SEMI
Consumer/EMS/Distribution
- Apple forecast flat 4Q sales on weaker iPad and wearable demand; says iPhone demand in China doing well
- PC ODM utilization hovers around 50% in 4Q with demand not expected to recover until 2Q24 despite lean PC inventory
- Farnell expands its portfolio of interconnect offering
- N.A. PCB shipments declined 15% Y/Y in Sep but rebounded from August
- 3Q smartphone sales declined 0.3% signaling a bottom says TechInsights