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December 1, 2015 | IPCEstimated reading time: 2 minutes
IPC — Association Connecting Electronics Industries announced today the October findings from its monthly North American Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Statistical Program. Modest sales growth continued in October and the book-to-bill ratio retreated to 1.02.
Total North American PCB shipments increased 1.4 percent in October 2015 compared to October 2014. Year-to-date shipment growth continued positive at 0.4 percent. Compared to the previous month, PCB shipments were down 6.9 percent.
PCB bookings declined sharply to -20.5 percent compared to October 2014, reducing year-to-date order growth to 2.1 percent. Orders were down 6.0 percent in October compared to the previous month.
“Modest sales growth continued in October for the North American PCB industry, thanks to strong order growth earlier in the year,” said Sharon Starr, IPC’s director of market research. “A sharp decline in orders pulled down the book-to-bill ratio in October, although it remains in positive territory,” she added. “Thirteen consecutive months of positive book-to-bill ratios indicates positive sales growth in the fourth quarter of this year, provided orders bounce back.”
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