By Valerie Coffey
The December Bishop Report on the connector industry by Bishop & Associates (St. Charles, IL) said that in November 2004, connector orders were down 5.7%, making this the second consecutive month in which orders have declined over the same period last year. October orders were down 4.4%, ending the industry streak of 30 consecutive months of increasing orders.
According to the report, “We had hoped for better in November, but these results are not totally startling.” The fourth quarter is historically the industry’s weakest. Also, the fourth quarter of 2003 was a breakout quarter after two years of sales declines (2001 and 2002) and last year’s modest growth.
In effect, the report concludes that the fourth quarter of 2004 was more typical of the normal connector industry business cycle, especially comparing current results to 4Q03, a quarter in which demand for electronic products began to surge.
According to the Bishop & Associates Consumer Business Index (CBI) report, this softness in new orders is apparent and clearly reflected by the regional CBI indices. Japan, Europe, and the U.S. have experienced declining orders throughout the fourth quarter of 2004 (see Fig.). The report cautiously concluded that softening connector demand trend will likely continue through the first half of 2005.
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According to the Consumer Business Index, a survey of connector industry personnel in areas around the globe on sales orders from month to month, global connector orders have softened. (5.0 = Improving a Lot, 3.0 = Staying the Same, 1.0 = Declining a Lot)
