North America Electronic Component Sales Sentiment Points to Industry Contraction Continuing into July and August
ECIA’s Electronic Component Sales Trend (ECST) July 2022 Survey Results
Dale Ford, Chief Analyst

The July 2022 Electronic Component Sales Trend Survey (ECST) index indicates that the sales contraction that began in June continued into July. The overall index average slipped from 97.5 in June to 94.3 in July. Measurements below the benchmark level of 100 indicate negative sales growth. The July results point to a large difference between the Electro-Mechanical/Connector segment compared to Semiconductors and Passives. The Electro-Mechanical/Connector index average outperformed expectations and jumped from 98.4 to 105.8. The Semiconductor and Passive indices continued their tumble down to 88.9 and 89.3 respectively. The end-market sentiment remained flat month-to-month at 93.2. In a contrast to June, there are several component subcategories reporting positive growth sentiment in July. Connectors and Electro-Mechanical components achieved the most positive result followed by Discrete semiconductors. Memory ICs and Analog/Linear ICs also achieved positive outcomes.
Participate in the ECST Survey now:
- Monthly (Note – The monthly survey is open the first three weeks of the month.)
- Quarterly (Note – The quarterly survey is open February, May, August and November.)
Member of the Week:

ECIA is pleased to honor Kensington Electronics as our Member of the Week!
In 1989 husband and wife team, John and Doris Rabbitt, having recognized the need for an electromechanical distributor that operated with integrity and focused on customer service, founded Kensington Electronics, Inc., (KEI) in Orange County, California. Along with their three sons and a growing team of industry professionals, KEI began adding new lines to better serve the evolving telecommunications, military, medical and computer peripheral markets. After John Rabbitt's passing in 2003, KEI relocated to Austin, Texas, and has since become among the fastest-growing nationwide distributors of electronic components.
Over the last three decades, Kensington has evolved into a connector and electromechanical component specialist serving over 6,500 customers in the military-aerospace, industrial, solar, medical, telecom and automotive sectors with a level of service rarely seen in the industry. “Our sales team takes pride in being the most knowledgeable and responsive in the distribution industry. Kensington’s dedicated sales representatives have the expertise to be full-cycle partners with our customers. We’re technical advisors during the design phase and skilled at implementing tailored supply-chain solutions during production” says Michael Henderson, National Sales Manager. In the last few years, KEI has added a custom cable-assembly shop to the business model. “We were hearing from our customers that there were not custom overmolding shops willing to help design and quote low-volume, high mix cable opportunities. With our focus always on customer service, we felt we were the best company to fill that void in the market”, says Sean Donovan, Vice President. The foundation of their success continues to be the team of experienced professionals carrying on the KEI philosophy, a multi-million-dollar inventory of high reliability electronics, and a modern distribution facility.
KEI has been an ECIA member for more than seven years. ECIA is grateful for the years of support.
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Weekly Member Newsletter
August 3 - Executive Conference Digital Brochure; Member of the Week, Kensington Electronics; Dean Kamen Keynote Speaker for the Conference; New Members
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Industry Dashboard

Distributors Shine Through Daunting Supply Chain of 2021
Dale Ford, Chief Analyst
In the midst of a multi-year, global crisis with impacts from multiple sources on the electronic components supply chain, top distributors have stepped up as vital partners of component manufacturers and customers in managing multiple challenges that have no precedent. The cataclysmic events of the past 2+ years have reshaped the world and the electronics industry so profoundly that industry leaders do not see a future return to previous, typical patterns and business practices.
In assessing the events that have roiled the electronics industry it is amazing that the industry has not only survived but thrived in many ways. Following two years of declining revenues, the Top 50 Authorized Americas Distributors achieved revenue growth of 21.9 % in Americas sales. Even more impressive, this group delivered 30.3% revenue growth on a worldwide basis as EMEA and Asia sales outpaced Americas sales growth.
Significant changes to the companies included in the Top 50 Americas Authorized Distributor rankings for 2021 are: The addition of seven companies headquartered in Asia/Pacific that have sales revenues in the Americas that qualify them for inclusion in the Americas Top 50; The exclusion of 10 companies that were included in the 2020 rankings but chose to not participate in the survey for 2021. Since it was not possible to develop reasonable, reliable estimates for revenues of these ten companies, they have been dropped from the 2021 rankings.
Celebrating 100 Years of the Authorized Channel

With a nod to the industry’s start on Radio Row, it is the perfect time to celebrate 100 years of the Authorized Channel and its impact on the tech industry and society.
ECIA assisted with an e-book that recognizes the visionaries and founders of our industry, the companies that made a difference, technology, operational advancements, and the Association - which has helped spur the growth and value of the channel.

GIPC News
The Global Industry Practices Committee is working on a number of issues in 2022.
The Workplace Disruption work group is putting the final changes on its third document and should be publishing it by the end of August. This work group, made up of ten companies, has been working together to continue monitoring the challenges and changes in today’s workplace.
In April 2022, we kicked off the Cybersecurity and Fraud work group populated with Subject Matter Experts from various global companies. This team is working on their first deliverable centered around Risk Management and Ransomware Readiness and are currently completing multiple industry surveys.
Short term, there are teams revisiting two important topics: the first is exploring what we have learned over the past three years regarding the China Tariff process and what are the best and worst practices being used today. The second topic is NCNR (Non-cancellable, non-returnable) orders. ECIA published a guideline document in 2002 and this group will be reviewing it for updates and re-publishing.
The GIPC is also pursuing a consolidated/specific reporting process for global environmental regulations in the electronic component authorized channel. Filtering through the more than 70,000 regulations and standards in this space is a difficult and costly challenge. Plus, the Environmental Compliance SME group will continue updating and monitoring day to day changes and information.
For more information on GIPC activities, please contact Don Elario at [email protected]
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