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North American PCB Book-to-Bill Still Strong, Growing in March
April 26, 2010 |Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
BANNOCKBURN, IL — IPC — Association Connecting Electronics Industries announced the March 2010 findings from its monthly North American Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Statistical Program. “In the March data, we can really see the recovery in full swing,” said IPC President & CEO Denny McGuirk. “Rigid PCB bookings grew in double digits and continued to grow faster than shipments, which has kept the book-to-bill ratio strongly positive for the past 10 consecutive months. Both rigid PCBs and flexible circuits are gaining strength.”
Rigid PCB shipments were up 19.6% while bookings increased 38.4% in March 2010 from March 2009. Year to date, rigid PCB shipments were up 9.2% and bookings have grown 31.9%. Compared to the previous month, rigid PCB shipments increased 23.5% and rigid bookings increased 28.2%. Rigid PCBs represent an estimated 90% of the current PCB industry in North America, according to IPC’s World PCB Production and Laminate Market Report. The book-to-bill ratio for the North American rigid PCB industry in March 2010 grew to 1.10.
Flexible circuit shipments in March 2010 were down 1.3%, but bookings were up 18.9% compared to March 2009. Year to date, flexible circuit shipments were down 2.4% and bookings were up 7.1%. Compared to the previous month, flexible circuit shipments went up 27.3% and flex bookings rose by 98.8%. In March, the flexible circuit manufacturers in IPC’s survey sample indicated that bare circuits accounted for about 56% of their shipment value reported for the month. The North American flexible circuit book-to-bill ratio improved to 0.98.
For rigid PCBs and flexible circuits combined, industry shipments in March 2010 increased 17.7% from March 2009, as orders booked increased 36.8% from March 2009. Year to date, combined industry shipments were up 8.3% and bookings were up 29.9%. Compared to the previous month, combined industry shipments for March 2010 increased 23.8% and bookings went up 31.6%. The combined (rigid and flex) industry book-to-bill ratio in March 2010 increased to 1.09.
IPC’s monthly survey of the North American PCB industry tracks bookings and shipments from U.S. and Canadian facilities, which provide indicators of regional demand. These numbers do not measure U.S. and Canadian PCB production. To track regional production trends, IPC asks survey participants for the percent of their reported shipments that were produced domestically (i.e., in the USA or Canada). In March 2010, 85% of total PCB shipments reported were domestically produced. Domestic production accounted for 85% of rigid PCB and 80% of flexible circuit shipments in March by IPC’s survey participants. These numbers are significantly affected by the mix of companies in IPC’s survey sample, which changed slightly in January, but will remain constant through the remainder of the year.
The book-to-bill ratios are calculated by dividing the value of orders booked over the past three months by the value of sales billed during the same period from companies in IPC’s survey sample. A ratio of more than 1.00 suggests that current demand is ahead of supply, which is a positive indicator for sales growth over the next two to three months. Year-on-year and year-to-date growth rates provide the most meaningful view of industry growth. Month-to-month comparisons should be made with caution as they may reflect cyclical effects. Because bookings tend to be more volatile than shipments, changes in the book-to-bill ratios from month to month may not be significant unless a trend of three consecutive months or more is apparent. It is also important to consider changes in bookings and shipments to understand what is driving changes in the book-to-bill ratio.
For more information, visit www.IPC.org
2009-2010 IPC Book-to-Bill Reports:February PCB Industry Results Show Consistent GrowthIPC January PCB Book-to-Bill Shows Growth IPC Releases December Book to Bill Holiday Demand Tapers, November PCB Book-to-Bill Dips October 2009 PCB Orders, Shipments Still Indicating GrowthSeptember Book-to-Bill Above Parity: 1.08IPC August PCB Book-to-Bill Ratios Steady at ParityIPC's July Book-to-bill Stays Just Above Parity 2009 PCB Orders Down 30% Year-to-Date, June Book-to-Bill PositiveMay PCB Orders Outpace ShipmentsApril PCB Book-to-Bill Shows Glimpse of RecoveryQ'02 Facing Soft Market; March PCB Book-to-Bill ReleasedRigid PCB Book-to-Bill Remains Low in February, Flex Moves UpJanuary PCB Book-to-Bill Drops to 0.89