Industry Spotlight News RS mobile app
ecsn predicts growth for UK 2014 though remains “cautiously optimistic” on outlook
RS Components has unveiled its first design support app for iOS-based mobile devices. The company is calling its new app RS Toolbox, which is available free-of-charge. The company advises, the app was set-up to offer a central access point to popular electronic reference materials and calculation and conversion tools in an easy-to-use format.
The app runs on mobile devices that use the iOS operating system, which includes iPads, iPhones and iPod Touch devices from Apple. A version that runs on Windows 8 devices is also planned. The site features an extensive range of functions, which are grouped as icons on the main screen, including a multitude of engineering calculators, converters and lookup tables. For example, included in the functions are filter frequency calculators, a 555 timer configurator, calculators for a variety of voltage regulators and op- amps, and essential tools such as numbering systems converters, Ohm’s Law calculator and lookup tables for battery types and sizes. The app offers a high level of customisation and is available in 16 different languages. RS Components
www.uk.rs-online.com/toolbox
Comment
As the close of 2013 draws in, on reflection it has been an interesting year proving both fruit- ful and productive. A lot of new technologies are being created particularly with the proliferation of the IoT, spurred on by the rise of mobile devices such as tablets and smart phones, which have been industry drivers across many applications this year.
With the rise of technology continuing at such a pace, surely
the electronics industry is set to continue to grow and evolve? In reflection this could prove to be a lucrative environment for addressing the current crisis in graduate unemployment. In a members discussion with the ecsn network we look at just how
this is shaping up as a realistic option, on p9. Also in this issue we focus on power electronics, with a feature exploring how the current trend towards smart monitoring is improving distribu- tion grid reliability on p20. Connectors are always a main staple in device design and in this issue an exploration of the new technologies in high-speed copper and fibre-optic interconnection systems looks at how this is signif- icantly increasing data transfer for ruggedised applications. Switches and relays have a great deal of impact on the user interface and in this month’s issue we feature a review exploring some of the current options for secure access control on p30. This just leave me to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy new Year on behalf of myself and everyone on the Electronics team. We look forward to a prosperous 2014. Michelle Winny Editor
The ecsn has delivered a cautiously optimistic fore- cast for 2014 based on a report released by the Manufacturers’ Authorised Distributor (afdec) group within the Electronic Components Supply Network (ecsn). It believes that the market will return to growth in the range of 3.5 percent-to-8.2 percent with a mid-point of 5.8 percent in 2014, but cautioned that the recovery is likely to be gradual and in-line with improvements in the macroeco- nomic environment.
The organisation advises that, analysis of the con- solidated returns from its membership indicate that the overall UK/Ireland Distributor Total Available Market (DTAM) in 2013 is likely to have remained “flat” (no growth or decline) when compared to the previous year. In 2013 DTAM is expected to be around £1.01bn, with the Total Available Market (TAM) likely to remain flat at £XXbn.” Presenting the forecast, Aubrey Dunford, ecsn Market Analyst confirmed that in 2013 the UK/Ireland electronic components markets performed within the range of guidance in the association’s forecast, but that growth in the second half of the year and into the final quarter remained below expectations: The year ended at the lower end of our guidance, with Authorised Distributors maintaining but not increasing their share of the TAM” said Dunford.
“Returns from our members forecast that the UK/Eire electronic components markets will con- tinue to improve gradually throughout 2014. We’re likely to see a very slight increase in the TAM (up by XX percent to £YYbn), however the DTAM share will remain around the same and for the first time in several years reflecting growth at a few directly supported customers in automotive markets”. Dunford confirmed that the ‘Book to Bill ratio’ an important industry indicator, whilst being gener- ally positive has not consistently been above 1.1:1 a ‘magic number’ that heralds a return to stronger long-term growth: “Our members customers fore- casts are limited and as a result they continue to place very short term order cover, which the gener-
ally good availability of components and low lead- times enables them to do,” Dunford said, “The lead- times for modest volumes of most electronic components is currently less than four weeks but with many manufacturers reducing their produc- tion capacity it will take some time to bring this capacity back on-line as demand increases”. According
to ecsn/afdec Chairman, Adam
Fletcher the well-publicised improvement in macro-economic conditions in the Eurozone and beyond have contributed to an improvement in both consumer and business confidence. However the improvement in the Construction, Services, Automotive and Aerospace sectors have yet to be realised in the Industrial Market sector, resulting in limited supply network visibility.
“Unfortunately the Industrial market sector on which the bulk of the UK and Ireland electronic components market is reliant, tends to lag rather than lead,” said Fletcher “But we will get to the party and contribute to having a good time in 2014,” he concluded. Ben Green, Technical & Marketing Communications Manager at Harwin adds: “The predictions are in line with our expectations. However, our customers are now seeing healthy orders and the distribution network has responded by increasing their stock profiles to meet this increased demand.”
ecsn/afdec Chairman, Adam Fletcher notes that the recovery from the current recession is unprece- dented in recent times: “The previous recessions in the electronics industry have been either regional or sectorial, this is the first global event, if ‘global economies all rise on a tide of economic recovery’ it will have a profound impact on availability in the global electronic components supply network as manufacturers scramble to keep up with demand.” Fletcher concluded.
ecsn
www.ecsn-uk.org
Events
Embedded World 2014 Exhibition & Conference
February 25-27, 2014 Nuremberg
The meeting-place of the international embedded community
Including two informative and high-profile conferences: the embedded world Conference and the electronic displays Conference.
www.embedded-world.de
4 DECEMBER/JANUARY 2014 Electronics
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