Component orders are flat, and don't expect much improvement as we approach the dog days of summer.

Component orders remained stable through June and will likely be flat through the end of the summer, according to the Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA) sector which tracks the numbers. While electronic component orders fluctuated week by week in June, there was little overall change from May, according to the monthly index provided by the EIA's Electronic Components, Assemblies & Materials Association (ECA). The 12-month moving average remained positive with no obvious trend.

ECA manufacturers that gathered for the ECA Summer Meeting in late June expressed guarded optimism that the second half of 2002 would remain positive and profits would return in the fourth quarter.

"Nobody is writing off 2002," said Bob Willis, ECA president, "but pricing pressures and the vulnerability of consumer confidence could forestall any real growth until 2003."

The ECA represents manufacturers and producers of passive and active electronic components, component arrays and assemblies, and materials and support services.

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