Bishop & Associates recently completed its annual survey of the connector industry’s European customers; in the first of two articles, we announce the top companies overall as well as those who scored high for product quality.   Bishop & Associates just completed an annual survey of the European connector industry, in which it asked customers aboutRead More

How does the connector industry view itself? According to the Connector Confidence Index, not always well.   Bishop & Associates polls connector industry executives monthly to see how they view the industry’s performance, both current and future. The executives are asked to rate the performance by four regions that are key to the industry: North America,Read More

In the first half of 2015, the connector industry is down almost 5% in US dollars, yet up in foreign currencies. Why?   The connector industry contracted -4.6% in the first six months of 2015 when measured in US dollars. After the strong performance in 2014, it is reasonable to believe that year-over-year growth would beRead More

Medical market sector sales are up 15.3% in 1Q15, driven by the Medtronic/Covidien merger.   Bishop tracks eight companies in the medical market sector. These companies’ combined sales have grown year over year for the past 12 consecutive quarters, ending with 1Q15. These companies grew 3.0% year over year in 2013 and 5.5% in 2014.Read More

Currently, there are more than 1.6 million industrial robots in service worldwide; will that number grow significantly in the next five years?   According to the IFR (International Federation of Robotics), there have been approximately 2.7 million industrial robots shipped worldwide since the 1960s. With a potential service life of 15 years, that means thereRead More

Bishop & Associates completed its 2015 customer survey of electronic distributors. In the second of two articles, we reveal the distributors rated best for website usefulness and price competitiveness, as well as best overall distributor.   Bishop & Associates just concluded its annual survey of electronic distributors, in which it asked connector and cable assembly users toRead More

Bishop & Associates has wrapped up its 2015 customer survey of electronic distributors. In the first of two articles, we reveal the distributors rated best in breadth of product, support, ease of doing business, and delivery.   Bishop & Associates just concluded its annual survey of electronic distributors in which it asked connector and cable assemblyRead More

With industrial market sector sales flat in 2014, it’s not surprising that sales across the sector tumbled in the first quarter of 2015.   Bishop tracks 12 companies in the industrial market sector. These companies’ combined sales contracted year over year in the last three quarters ending with 1Q15. In 2013, these companies grew 0.1%Read More

According to Bishop & Associates’ research, the fourth largest connector market will exhibit strong growth over the next five years.   The circular connector market is the fourth largest product market by share of the total worldwide connector market following PCB, application-specific, and rectangular I/O connectors. This share has been relatively stable over the last fiveRead More

Bishop & Associates examined 10 years of connector industry balance sheets, which revealed consistent performance that rewarded investors.   The connector industry grew to almost $53 billion in 2014. It is an industry with a good balance sheet and not a lot of long-term debt. Let’s take a look at some of the stats that supportRead More

According to Bishop & Associates’ research, the fourth largest connector market will exhibit strong growth over the next five years.   The industrial market is the fourth largest connector market by share of the total worldwide connector market following automotive, computer/peripheral, and telecom/datacom. This share has been relatively stable over the last five years at approximatelyRead More

Bishop & Associates examined the revenues of 11 companies and found the telecom/datacom cable assembly market 2014 sales racked up growth.   Bishop tracks 11 companies in the telecom/datacom market sector. This market has shown four quarters of year-over-year growth, as measured by these 11 companies’ revenues. In 2013, these companies grew 0.1% year overRead More