The semiconductor market maintains its momentum so far in 2014, which is good news given how closely trends in the connector market follow trends in the semiconductor market. Global semiconductor market performance in early 2014 has continued where 2013 left off  – with positive sales growth. As the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) reported at the beginning ofRead More

Semiconductors drive the electronics industry, and the connection between semiconductors and connectors spans more than three decades. The semiconductor industry has grown from roughly $10B in 1980 to $300B in 2013. Along the way it transitioned from analog to digital, ECL and Bipolar to CMOS, and has featured sizes from 100s of nm to as lowRead More

The real advantages of solid-state lighting are realized when lamp designers shake off limitations imposed by traditional lamps and take advantage of the low power, low heat, and low profiles of LED light sources, as LED arrays light the way. Alternatives to the incandescent lightbulb have come a long way over the past 10 years. DemandRead More

So far, 2014’s facts and figures show the connector industry in a sweet spot: The first three months suggest the full year is going to result in high single-digit growth. There are three issues that can create turmoil in the connector industry and cause a serious drop in profitability when they are experienced: Decline in connector demandRead More

Expanded packaging and performance options make power connectors surge. Power connectors once occupied just a tiny niche of the total separable interface market, but they are now on a rapid growth curve as many new power connectors that offer expanded packaging and performance options come into the market. In the world of pluggable electronic interconnects,Read More

Hydroelectric power generation, the largest renewable energy source, supplied 16% of the worldwide electrical needs in 2012, but wind turbine energy is growing at a much faster pace. Read this wind turbine power market report for the details. Other than hydroelectric power plants, wind turbine power has become the largest renewable/green energy source in theRead More

First designed more than 100 years ago, electric cars are making a “comeback.” So what’s driving the electric vehicle market? Electric vehicles were all the rage 100 years ago. They were quiet, reliable, and did not require strenuous manual cranking or shifting. They ran 35 to 50 miles between recharges, with some able to runRead More

2013 was a pretty good year for the automotive industry, based on sales of passenger cars. Here is Bishop & Associates’ 2013 passenger car market recap and what it means for the connector industry. 2013 was a pretty good year for the automotive industry based on sales of passenger cars (which does not include lightRead More

The latest automotive technology is sensor-based, but to make self-driving vehicles a reality, technology convergence is necessary. This article, based on research by KPMG, sheds light on what may be next in automotive connectors and other technology. This article is excerpted from a white paper published by KPMG. Can we build a safe, self-driving vehicle?Read More

The semiconductor market surges as booming sales of cars, smartphones, and tablets drive sales to new highs. Bishop tracks 13 companies in the semiconductor market sector. Growth in the semiconductor market, as measured by these 13 companies, was strong in 2013. For the full year, the market grew 5.7% over 2012. Trends in the globalRead More

As goes the semiconductor market, so go interconnects. The Semiconductor Industry Association shares the five things to know about global semiconductor sales now. 1. Global semiconductor sales reached a record high in 2013. Worldwide semiconductor sales for 2013 reached $305.6 billion, the industry’s highest-ever annual total and an increase of 4.8% from the 2012 totalRead More

Rise of the Industrial Robots When Hon Hai Precision Industry Company Chairman Terry Gou announced in 2011 that Foxconn, its wholly owned subsidiary, would install one million robots over the next three years in its factories to replace workers and do “simple” work, he probably did not actually intend to install that many industrial robotsRead More