Power Shortages Forced China Factories to Halt Production
Power outages in China have put millions of homes into darkness and temporarily shut down factories. The Chinese government has also temporarily shut down power to several major semiconductor foundries with intention to regularly suspend industrial electricity supplies. These measures are being imposed as a…
Record-Level Aluminum Price Spike in 2021
The raw cost of materials of aluminum has reached a 10-year all-time high in pricing. And according to three data sources, it is predicted that the price of aluminum will continue to increase significantly over the next several years. Market Forecast for Aluminum Prices Importance…
COVID-19 Impact Updates | Industry News | Supply Chain
Stray Balloon Causes Massive Power Outage in German Factories
On September 17, 2021, a massive power outage hit Dresden, Germany. Not only did this affect over 300,000 households and businesses, but it impacted the largest semiconductor fabrication facilities in Europe. The cause – a single stray toy balloon landed on a switchgear of a…
COVID-19 Impact Updates | Industry News
Typhoon Chanthu Disrupts Supply Chain in East Asia
Super Typhoon “Chanthu”, an enormous category 5 disaster, is damaging portions of the Philippines, Taiwan, China, South Korea, and Japan. Not only does this typhoon have massive impacts on the human lives in the area, but also disrupts the already unstable state of semiconductor supply…
EU releases first public database of SCIP
Approximately 6,000 companies in the European Union have met compliance by notifying the ECHA about products containing substances of very high concern (SVHC). This now contributes to over 4 million article notifications in the EU’s public database of substances of very high concern in products (SCIP). Now, for…
COVID-19 Impact Updates | Industry News
Multi-Layer Ceramic Capacitor Industry Threatened by COVID-19 Surge
The recent surge in COVID-19 cases in Asia have caused two of the top three global producers of ceramic capacitors to shut down major factories in Japan and Malaysia. Global supplies are extremely tight in the Multi-Layer Ceramic Capacitor (MLCC) industry, as manufacturers are scrambling…
Industry News | Regulation and Compliance updates
EPA: New Rules on PBT Chemicals and Extension for PIP (3:1)
In January 2021 the EPA released final risk management rules restricting the use of five PBT chemicals to reduce exposure and protect human health and the environment. However, on March 2021, the EPA announced it was reviewing the original risk management rules through an open…
Industry News | Regulation and Compliance updates
UKCA Deadline Extended to 2023
The UK government has recently extended the deadline to January 1, 2023 to apply the United Kingdom Conformity Assessed (UKCA) marking. UKCA markings are product safety markings for all products sold in England, Scotland and Wales. This marking allows the UK a measure of controls for goods regulations. This marking also replaces the…
Best Practices | Product Updates | Regulation and Compliance updates
If You’re Waiting for the PCN,
It May Be Too Late
The impetus to purchase components for electronic products often comes in the form of a product change notice (PCN). Manufacturers will let people know when they intend to discontinue components, but that notice doesn’t always give a lot of lead time if any. SiliconExpert is in…
COVID-19 Impact Updates | Industry News
COVID-19 Forces Vietnam Factories to Halt Production
The Ministry of Health in Vietnam recently reported a record number of 7,307 COVID-19 infections, raising Vietnam’s overall caseload to 81,678. Vietnam has been on lockdown and with this rise in infections extended their lockdown in Ho Chi Minh City through August 1, 2021. In…