Electronics Supply Chain Weekly Digest 11-17-23
DATAPOINTs OF THE WEEK: S&P reported global electronics PMI of 46.9 in October vs 47.7 in Sep, marking the sharpest deterioration in the sector since mid-2020. S&P highlighted a sharper fall in new orders, output, employment, and stocks of purchase by the industry. All subsectors recorded a decline in output led by Computing. Electronic Mfg. shed staff for the 2nd month, added S&P.
S&P reported business outlook for the next 12 months in China slipped to a one-year low in October reflecting concerns over broader economic growth both at home and overseas. In Europe, S&P reported business confidence over the next 12 months remains challenging with first forecasting cuts to both employment and investments. Outlook is gloomiest in Germany where net balance of just +2% of companies surveyed expect to see a rise in business activity. In the US, S&P reports business confidence remains the highest among developed economies with a net of +25% of businesses forecasting growth in business activity.
Headlines:
Auto
- Amazon shoppers in 2024 will be able to buy a Hyundai directly from the retailer’s site
- Continental announces job cuts in automotive division
- US government rolls out US$3.5B in EV battery funding as manufacturers start layoffs citing slow demand
- Fisker slashed its EV production target for 2023 citing challenges with production ramp-up
- Lucid announce an $80,000 EV SUV with 440 miles range
- According to US Census Bureau US auto retail sales of motor vehicles and parts declined 1% in October on adjusted basis
- VW believes €20K EV is still doable in the second half of the decade
- VW cuts shifts (again) at Zwickau plant on lackluster EV demand
- Union workers at GM, F and STLA ratify UAW deal
- Xpeg forecasts 2x increase in EV unit sales in 4Q23; reports wider than expected operating loss tied to production ramp
Aerospace
- China weighs ending freeze on Boeing purchases with 737 Max deal in US
- Boeing outperforms Airbus booking 3x more orders at Dubai Air Show
Datacenter/Telco
- Alibaba scraps cloud business spin-off citing US chip export ban
- Cisco’s outlook disappoints citing customers digesting product
- Tencent has stockpiled Nvidia AI chips; turns attention to domestic solutions following recent ban
IP&E
- TrendForce sees global MLCC demand experiencing slow growth in 2024
Industrials
- Destocking in key markets like Germany and China to drive slower growth in Siemens 2024 sales
Semiconductors
- Applied Materials with better results and outlook but stock under pressure by investigation of selling equipment to SMIC
- Consumer IC demand not expected to fully recover until 2H24 says DigiTimes
- China’s mature IC capacity to account for 33% of global mix by 2027 says TrendForce citing 22 fabs under construction and 10 in the planning phase
- Infineon reported strong results and outlook forecasting double-digit growth in Auto IC sales in 2024
- Nvidia unveiled its latest flagship AI chip with more memory attached
- Microsoft announced a duo of custom-designed AI chips
- onsemi South Korea SiC fab suffered power outage last week
- Samsung has received 4nm orders from AMD
- Silergy says inventory correction of PMICs may take three more quarters to complete
- IDC raised its 2023 and 2024 global semis sales forecast; projecting an ambitious 20% growth in 2024
- Tower Semiconductor forecasted decline in 4Q revenue on continued inventory digestion
Consumer/EMS/Distribution
- Apple’s effort to replace Qualcomm chip in iPhone falls further behind
- Mixed datapoints on consumer spending in China during Single Day shopping
- Strong Huawei sales boosted China October smartphone shipments says Counterpoint