October highlights:
In October, global design activities remained active and strong, while global sourcing activities exhibited a softer performance.
During October, global design activities demonstrated a notable increase of +11% compared to the previous month and a solid +7% growth compared to the same period last year. The month-over-month growth aligned with typical seasonal patterns.
In contrast, global sourcing activities experienced a flat month-over-month performance but registered a significant -24% decline year-over-year in October. Traditionally, there is a seasonal uptick in global sourcing activities from September to October, but the lack of growth during October underscores persistent market challenges.
2023 Year-to-date Summary (january – october):
For the calendar year-to-date period spanning January to October 2023, global design activities recorded a positive growth of +5%, while global sourcing activities witnessed a decline of -25% compared to the first ten months of 2022.
Q4 2023 projections:
Looking forward to the fourth quarter of 2023, we anticipate a moderate growth of +4% to +8% in global design activities. This projection is based on the expectation of a recovery in European activities following the summer slowdown. Conversely, global sourcing activities are anticipated to decrease by -3% to -6%, primarily influenced by reduced activities in the Americas region.