For the latest on Ted talks, celebrity engineers, ARINC specifications, open standards, and more, check out the news briefs for May 5, 2015. TE Connectivity’s new PRO BEAM EB16 optical termini has been selected as the design of choice for the new ARINC Project Paper 845 Expanded Beam Standard for Air Transport Aircraft. This decisionRead More

The connector industry is one of the most profitable subsections of the electronic components industry. Bishop & Associates’ Dave Pheteplace looks at 10 years of connector industry income statements.   The connector industry grew to almost $53 billion in 2014. It is one of the most profitable subsections of the electronic component industries. Let’s take a lookRead More

As both the US and European allies continue to cut defense programs and spending, the mil/aero market’s slow growth continues.   Bishop & Associates tracks 11 companies in the military/aerospace (mil/aero) market sector. This market has shown anemic results over the last five quarters, as measured by these 11 companies’ revenues. In 2013, these companies grewRead More

In December, the semiconductor market grew to a record $336 billion (up +10.0% YOY), while connector growth strengthened as well. The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) reported excellent growth in December 2014. December sales were a record $29.1 billion, up +9.3% from December 2013 and down -2.2% sequentially from November. 2014 semiconductor sales were up +10.0%Read More

Connector demand was up in 2014 with the industry showing moderate growth. Will this continue or is the industry in flux? Here is Bishop & Associates’ preliminary 2015 connector industry sales outlook. Connector demand through the first three quarters* of 2014 was high, with year-to-date sales through September up +9.2%. Connector demand has slowed during theRead More

By Bob Hult and John MacWilliams, Bishop & Associates   [hr] Advances in photonics, signal integrity, chip integration, and high-performance materials are enabling entirely new classes of electronic equipment. Bob Hult and John MacWilliams kick off the new year with a look at connector technologies to watch in 2015. The pace of change in theRead More

The connector industry grew in 2014, and that was a result of both evolving product lines and cutting-edge technology. Here, Bob Hult looks back at the year’s trends and products in the annual 2014 Connector Technology Review. Shrinking the size of electronic devices has always been a given in the world of electronic equipment. TheRead More

Read on to learn more about the top connector and cable assembly industry news briefs for October 14, 2014. Fluke Networks is unveiling LinkWare Live, the first cloud-based service that enables contractors, cable installers, and project managers using the Versiv family of certification testers to upload, manage, and analyze certification test results from cabling projectsRead More

Economic growth is slowing down in Germany and the economy in France is contracting, highlighting the euro area’s struggle to sustain its recovery. Still, should manufacturers be optimistic about Europe? With the “political earthquake” caused by the European elections in May and the difficult task of choosing the new leader of the European Commission in mind, it is easyRead More

How big is the connector industry? Ron Bishop explains the facts and figures of calculating total available market, but you must first put a fence around the connector industry. How big is the connector industry? There are many answers to that question depending on the criteria you are measuring: Region of the world Country MarketRead 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