China's software industry witnesses sluggish growth in H1

BEIJING: China's software industry grew at a moderate 10.6 per cent in the first half of 2012 compared to the robust 35.2 per cent last year due to the economic slowdown both at home and abroad, the government said on Sunday. 

The software sector's combined profits totaled 117 billion yuan (18.48 billion US dollars) in the first half, up 10.6 per cent from one year earlier, but the pace of growth slowed from 35.2 per cent surge in the same period last year, ministry of industry and information technology said.  

Business revenue climbed 26.2 per cent year on year to 1.1 trillion yuan in the January-June period, down 3.1 percentage points than the growth in the same period last year, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported. 

In the first six months, the sector's exports rose 11.7 per cent to 16.24 billion US dollars, 6 percentage points lower from the same period last year.

Analysts attributed the industry's slower growth to intensifying competition and weak external demand, the report said. 

BMW buys a piece of company that makes electric car charging stations

BMW is making what it describes as a "strategic investment" in Coulomb Technologies, which makes the ChargePoint electric car charging system to .

ChargePoint currently connect electric vehicle drivers to charging stations in more than 14 countries worldwide, and claims to be the world's largest system.

The investment by BMW will help speed the development of an electric infrastructure for plug-in electric vehicles around the world. BMW is launching two EVs, the i3 'city car' and the larger i8 luxury sedan, within the next couple of years.

The BMW announcement follows by just a few weeks the announcement by Mercedes-Benz that it is investing 40 million Euros to build a network of stations across Germany to refuel hydrogen fuel cell cars. The Mercedes-Benz F-Cell compact already is on the road both in Europe and in the United States.

In addition to making the charging stations, ChargePoint software service shelp drivers manage charging services, including the ability to locate and reserve stations, process payments, and more.

Japan's June auto diecasting aluminum shipments rise 14% on year to 39,654 mt

Japan's shipments of secondary aluminum alloy for diecast automotive components in June were 39,654 mt, up 14% year on year amid stable automotive output, Japan Aluminum Alloy Refiners Association said Monday.

The June shipments rose from May's 37,622 mt due to more operating days during the month.

Japan's automotive production in June was 769,251 vehicles, up 23.9% year on year, and up 14.4% from a month earlier, according to Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association.

"June was not too bad as domestic smelters were able to run their plants as scheduled. But they have concerns about demand possibly falling from October, due to the end of government car purchase subsidy program," said Shoji Matsunaga, the association secretary general. The subsidy program, designed to encourage spread of fuel-efficient vehicles, is likely to end during the current quarter as the government budget is running low, the Japanese automakers have said.

The total secondary aluminum alloy shipments including those for steelmaking, housing components and other applications were 68,019 mt, up 6.9% year on year and up 5% from a month ago.

Meanwhile, secondary aluminum alloy imports from China in June were 30,325 mt, down from 38,682 mt in May. The imports from China are mostly auto diecasting alloys and compete with the Japanese domestic productions.

"Import volumes from China are affected by the exchange rate. The dollar was relatively strong in June, but I hear in July import volumes started to increase again due to the weaker dollar," Matsunaga said.

LAUNCH Enters Agreement with Meineke for Diagnostics Equipment Purchase

LAUNCH Tech USA today announced that it has been awarded a Diagnostics Equipment Agreement for Meineke Car Care Centers Diagnostics Program. Under the terms of the agreement, LAUNCH Diagnostics products will be the preferred vendor for scan tools to help diagnose and repair vehicles in the over 900 Meineke stores nationwide.
“We think the X-431 GDS from Launch Tech is a great choice in scan tools for our dealers,” stated Tom Kirby, Director of Training & Product Development for Meineke. “It represents an excellent combination of coverage, capability, functionality and value. Launch Tech products are at the forefront of today’s diagnostic technology.”