Article: Not a pretty picture.(Market Outlook)(Nicolas Khoury appointed at Akrometrix)(Elite Material expands its capacity)(printed circuit boards in high demand)

As I write this column in early October, global economic chaos prevails. Tear up the prior forecasts and start over! Based upon the latest available monthly data (primarily through August), global electronic equipment growth was deteriorating in all regions (Chart 1) and recent reports indicate that consumer electronics sales (including PCs and mobile phones) softened far more in September and October. Global semiconductor shipments were still up 5.9 percent on a three-month basis in August, but most of the growth was in Southeast Asia (Chart 2). North America was down 7.3 percent and presumably deteriorated further into the autumn.

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