Question-and-Answer Session
Operator
Our first question is from Ross Seymore from Deutsche Bank.
Ross Seymore - Deutsche Bank
A couple of questions here. First, on gross margin, we think about how that could trough versus your prior trough. Can you just walk us through the puts and takes of mix cost cutting, inventory, etcetera and how that might work out over the next couple quarters?
Mark Frey
Well, clearly the biggest potential negative and the biggest unknown is the load in volumes, that somewhat mitigated because we do have outsourcing of some packages and therefore, why I think we have done a better job this time of balancing the production losses that we seen so far at subcon rather than inplant.
The pluses, as I mentioned in the script, are the in-sourcing cost reductions that we’ve already put in place, plus some favorable trends we have seen in currency and input costs with gold being the biggest unknown. And as you know, gold continues to vacillate pretty wildly.
Mark Thompson
Ross, the other thing I would add to Mark's comment is that we continue to have significant new product launches every quarter, and that's a steady favorable contribution to the mix as well.
Ross Seymore - Deutsche Bank
I guess as a follow up more on that revenue line that you talked about with the loading side of the equation, have you seen any change after the weak September? Have things gotten worse? Stayed about the same? Gotten better? in general with your guidance, is there a specific sub-segment in your three that will do better or worse?
Mark Thompson
In general, I would say we've seen things stay about the same. The characteristics of the market are generally relatively little visibility and they manifest itself by last minute orders, expedite and so forth.
So all those things I think are, the end customers are being selective about the business that they are going after when they see an opportunity they are very aggressive, but I think there is a higher level of selectivity out there in the business. That's the way I would characterize it today.
Ross Seymore - Deutsche Bank
And then as far as the sub-segments?
Mark Thompson
The sub-segments have the one that's probably degraded the most versus what I would say a normal trend is automotive. And then after that it would be computing and industrial and consumer as well.
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