The Plexus Corporation said today that it would post a second-quarter loss and close a plant because a customer, Powerwave Technologies Inc., planned to shift business to rival electronic-components makers.
Apple was already clearly trying to reduce its reliance on its rival's component supplier arm, as indicated by changes to the way it designs its processor and sources RAM and NAND flash chips, but this may accelerate Apple's intended timeline.
Then there is Finisar, a Luminent rival that sells components to ONI Systems, which in turn competes with Ciena and other firms in selling metro-area networking equipment to service providers.
Last summer, Samsung and Sony decided to join forces too and will share the output from a "seventh-generation" LCD factory being built in South Korea.It may seem strange for Samsung to do deals with the company so closely identified as its main competitor, but in the consumer electronics industry rivals often buy components and even complete products from one another.
Samsung Electronics of South Korea, both a rival and a component supplier to Apple, moved to crash the party on the eve of the phone's debut, saying it planned to add the new device to existing patent lawsuits against the U.S. technology company.
But talks to acquire rival fiber optic component company SDL fell through recently.
Rival and Dow component DuPont offered similar results when it reported Tuesday it doubled its earnings year-over-year.
(See "Ford Gets Small").. Shares of Ford were down 92 cents, or 15.3%, to $5.11, Thursday afternoon, while rival and Dow component General Motors lost $1.77, or 12.1%, to $12.85.
Intel has long held a manufacturing lead over its competitors in the PC and server chip markets, building chips with smaller components before rivals do.
[C5.] Phone Companies Appeal Rules SBC Communications and other local telephone companies asked a court to overturn federal rules that give states more authority to decide if the phone companies must lease network components to rivals at discounts.
But Laird is up 21.4p at 350.4p on a report of a possible offer from US rivals for the electronic components company, while Argos-owner Home Retail - the subject of an approach from Sainsbury - is 7.5p higher at 145.4p.
