China’s Role in Electronic Product Manufacturing Mainland China has become the manufacturing center for the world, including high-volume manufacturing (HVM) of electronic products. The speed at which China became a leader in manufacturing is amazing, fueled in part by the wave of contract manufacturing that has swept the globe over the past decade. Oh, howRead More

Profitability Killers (Price Erosion + Rising Raw Material Costs) In Part 2 of the 10-year snapshot of the connector industry, Ron Bishop looks at price erosion and rising material costs. A sharp decline in demand will automatically produce a decline in profits. We experienced that in 2001, 2002, and 2009 when connector sales declined -18.9%,Read More

10-Year Snapshot of the Connector Industry The phrase “significant change” doesn’t adequately describe what happened in the connector industry over the past 10 years. Specifically, between 2003 and 2013, the connector industry: Experienced roller coaster swings in connector demand, setting new industry records for declines and increases Suffered the worst price erosion in decades, followedRead More

Cellular M2M Device Shipments for Industrial Automation Reach 760,000 According to a new research report from the analyst firm Berg Insight, the shipments of cellular M2M devices in industrial automation reached 760,000 worldwide in 2013. Growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22.5%, shipments are expected to reach 2.1 million in 2018. TheRead More

December 2013 – The server market has become a $50 billion segment of the computer industry, about the same size as the world connector market. With the advent of cloud storage and “Big Data,” many expect the server market to continue to grow, and to grow substantially. That could be a false assumption.

2013 Product/Technology Trends The trends that have driven the electronics industry for the past five years continued to evolve in 2013. Many of the new connectors introduced during the year reflect the density and performance demands of applications that consume less space, operate at higher speeds, weigh less in mobile products, and may contribute toRead More

December 2013 – 2013 is almost in the books. Did it meet, exceed, or fall short of expectations? Ron Bishop takes a look at the numbers to see how we’ll be ringing out this year.

November 2013 – A decrease in desktop sales and the quickly evolving world of mobile devices are changing the definition of “computer peripherals.” Is it a watch or is it a computer? John MacWilliams takes a closer look at the current catalog of peripheral equipment to determine what’s in, what’s out, what’s new, and what’s over.

November 2013 – Three quarters into the calendar year, how is the connector industry performing? Overall, will 2013 be boom or bust or somewhere in between? Bishop & Associates runs the numbers for the year so far and makes its forecast for Q4.

November 2013 – The automotive market was the fastest growing market sector in 2012 at 11.9% year-over-year, with profitability of $71.3 billion, or 5.3% of sales.

November 2013 – How important are websites in the B2B arena? We asked European connector customers if, how, and when they use the Internet for business purposes, and they shared their experiences for a snapshot of the connector industry online.

Big Data Survey Reveals More Tricks Than Treats Companies investing in Big Data initiatives are waiting 18 to 24 months to see return on their investments (ROI) and only 3% give their enterprise information “Superman” status, according to a recent Halloween-themed survey. The alarming gap in anticipated ROI versus reality is just one horror revealedRead More