Edgewater Research: Electronic Weekly Digest - Feb 19

This Week's Highlight: U.S. New Vehicle Inventory

At the end of January, U.S. new vehicle inventory stood at 2.6 million units, a slight decrease from December's 2.66 million but significantly higher than last January's 1.8 million. Despite this, inventory levels are still below the pre-COVID average of 3.5 million units. Inventory days in the U.S. increased to 80, the highest since June 2020, indicating a sales slowdown. A 60-day supply is considered normal, with the pre-COVID average around 70 days. Brands like Ford, Audi, Nissan, and others have over 100 days of inventory, while Toyota and Honda are below the industry average with 36 and 48 days, respectively.

Automotive News:

• BYD is setting up a new manufacturing plant in Mexico to export vehicles to the U.S.
• The French government is adjusting EV subsidies for different income groups.
• Continental plans to cut 7,500 jobs by 2025.
• Lucid reduces the prices of its Air Luxury sedans.
• Stellantis commits €103M to enhance its EV module facility in Hungary.
• Tesla temporarily drops Model Y prices in the U.S.
• The average new vehicle price in the U.S. fell by 2.6% month-over-month in January.
• Auto credit availability saw a decline in January, according to Cox Automotive.
• U.S. ports hold Audi, Bentley, and Porsche vehicles due to violations of anti-labor laws by Chinese electronic components.

Industrial Sector Updates:

• Boeing aims to increase 737 Max production to 38 per month in the second half of 2024.
• Deere & Company revises its 2024 outlook due to high borrowing costs and falling crop prices.
• Robotics sales dropped by 30% in 2023, as reported by the Association for Advancing Automation.
• The U.S. administration may cut F-35 jet orders by 18% in 2025.

Datacenter Developments:

• Cisco revises its annual revenue forecast downward and announces a 5% workforce reduction.

Semiconductor Sector:

• Applied Materials reports strong demand in advanced logic and memory sectors.
• GlobalFoundries issues a cautious first-quarter outlook.
• Intel seeks $2B for a new fabrication plant in Ireland.
• Kioxia/Western Digital JV to receive a $1.6B subsidy from Japan.
• Renesas plans to acquire Altium for $5.9 billion.
• Tower Semiconductors proposes an $8 billion fabrication plant in India.

Other News:

• Sony reduces its PS5 forecast for the year ending March 2024 from 25M to 21M units.

This concise overview captures the essential trends and changes in the automotive, industrial, datacenter, and semiconductor sectors, highlighting key developments and strategic shifts in the global market.