Industry Insider

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Last Updated 9/3/2024

The Industry Insider is a bi-weekly collection of direct input from Fusion suppliers and customers on what they see and hear related to changes in the supply/demand balance across the electronics industry.

See the latest updates below in bold.

For more market intelligence, check out our quarterly analysis of manufacturer earnings reports here.

Manufacturers	Affected Product	Market Trend
ASAHI KASEI Rohm Canon Japan Semiconductor Japan Advanced Semi. Renesas Sony Mitsubishi Electric Renesas New Japan Radio/Nisshinbo Micro Devices		Concerns over another earthquake in Japan is expected to impact manufactures based in the area. Manufacturing has been temporarily suspended at certain plants, however the extent of any shutdowns has yet to be fully reported. The companies listed have plants in the area. Read more about the potential impact of the earthquake here.
Advanced Micro Devices		AMD has strengthened its data center AI system capabilities by acquiring ZT Systems, a top provider of AI infrastructure for large-scale computing, in a $4.9 billion deal. This move is a key part of AMD’s long-term AI strategy, helping the company better compete in the fast-growing data center AI market. Read more here.
Advanced Micro Devices	Server CPU	From August on, AMD will more strictly control the pricing of its 3rd Gen Milan and 4th Gen Genoa Server CPUs. Open market prices are generally trending down, and this is what triggered AMD to strictly monitor and manage its Server CPU pricing. In particular, AMD is closely watching prices given to their authorized distributors.
Global Tek Fositek LOTES	Connector	The AI server market is currently facing a significant shortage of quick connectors used in liquid cooling systems. The Cooling Distribution Unit (CDU) and manifolds, which include these connectors, are key components, with the cost of quick connectors escalating sharply due to high demand and limited supply. In response, Taiwanese manufacturers such as Global Tek, Fositek, and LOTES are accelerating their entry into the quick connector market. These companies are fast-tracking sample submissions to secure future orders, with Global Tek leading the way. Their factories in Wuxi, China, and Taoyuan, Taiwan, are actively submitting samples to potential partners, aiming to recognize revenue by late this year or early next year. Global Tek is also exploring additional manufacturing locations, such as Thailand, to diversify production and meet the needs of international clients.
Infineon NXP STMicroelectronics		Infineon, NXP, and STMicroelectronics are feeling the impact of the automotive industries pullback on EVs. The lack of demand consequently caused lower quarterly sales, diminishing the expectations of a market rebound.
Intel	CPU	Intel has had a challenging quarter due to early indications of poor financial results and reports of quality issues with certain products. There have been instability issues with the Desktop CPUs from the 13th and 14th generations. Intel is releasing a microcode update to address this matter. Overall, customer feedback indicates dissatisfaction with Intel’s response regarding allocation and pricing, likely influenced by recent layoff announcements. Additionally, there is a supply issue with Intel’s Elkhart Lake series, which could potentially last until the end of 2024. Affected items include the J6412 and J6413.
Intel	CPU	Intel is accelerating its efforts to regain industry leadership with its 5N4Y initiative, focused on rapid advancements in process technology. This includes a series of planned releases: Intel 7, Intel 4, Intel 3, Intel 20A, and the advanced Intel 18A process nodes. A key milestone was reached on August 6th, when Intel successfully powered on and booted Panther Lake and Clearwater Forest CPUs built on the Intel 18A process. Both products are scheduled for production in 2025. Additionally, Intel expects to secure its first external customer for the Intel 18A process in the first half of 2025. Additionally, according to Intel’s roadmap, the 6th Gen Xeon CPU (Granite Rapids) with E core will be launched in Q1 next year.
Intel	Desktop CPU	Desktop customers may shift their interest back to the 12th Gen Alder Lake CPUs due to instability issues with the 13th and 14th Gen models. Intel has stopped offering special pricing on Alder Lake, and open market prices reflect vendors' willingness to sell at a loss to meet revenue goals.
Intel Mellanox	Networking Products	As Mellanox shifts its production to focus on high specs model - 200Gbps or above, Intel products on 100Gbps and below models, which could help them capture the market Mellanox is leaving behind. Currently, Intel's pricing is more competitive, and Mellanox's models are getting harder to find.
Memory Manufacturers SK Hynix Micron	DDR3 DDR4 DDR5	Prices for DDR3 and DDR4 memory are expected to stay stable, but DDR4 supply will gradually decrease as manufacturers focus more on DDR5 and HBM. Currently, demand for DDR3 is strongest in the industrial market, as consumer market demand is generally week. Alternatively DDR4 demand is steady. DDR5 prices are rising, with increased demand expected in late 2024 or early next year. There's growing demand for DDR5 among major customers, and SK Hynix plans to raise LPDDR5 prices by 15-20% next month, with Micron likely to do the same by 15%.
Micron		Market intelligence sources report Micron has increasingly decommitted on orders close to delivery dates, pushing orders out by one to two weeks.
Molex	Connector	Demand for FFC/FPC board connectors is growing, although Molex suppliers haven't seen significant changes in lead times or pricing for these components. Most Molex products have lead times of about two to three months, depending on the country of origin. However, signal type relays are facing longer lead times, now up to 36 weeks. Despite this, distributors usually have enough inventory, and any shortages will be handled individually.
Monolithic Power Systems		The supply of Power Management (PMIC) items utilized in server applications are experiencing supply issues, part numbers with MPxxx and MPQxxx are affected by this situation as the production capacity which occupied by major customers. MPS lead times are extending as supply is consistently allocated to AI-related applications. Additionally, the manufacturer is strictly requiring project end-user information to review pricing and allocation requests.
Murata	MLCC Inductor	Murata MLCC lead times are stable and around 12 – 16 weeks. However, inductor lead times are less stable and are still extended to between three to six months. New lead time orders for affected series still have no firm delivery schedule.
Nvidia	B200 H200 H100 NIC	Nvidia’s B200 lead times have been postponed until end of this year. Customers are turning to the H200 over the H100 due to it being the newer product. Expectations are that supply for both alternatives will be constrained, as there were already issues with allocation earlier this year. Pricing will also likely rise. As the company works to support these products, Mellanox NICs like the MCX7 and MCX6, which are necessary for production, may see similar constraints.
Nvidia	GPU	Nvidia has issued an EOL notice for several of their GPU series. Last time buy for the A6000, A5500, A5000, and A4500 is September 24th with last shipment on January 25th, 2025. The last time buy for the A2000 (12GB) and A4000 is December 24 with last shipment on April 25th, 2025. Last buy for the T1000 8GB, T1000, and T4000 (4GB) is December 25th, with last shipments on June 25, 2025.

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