Book to Bill: Rigid PCBs Step Up; Flex Hovers in April 2010
December 31, 1969 |Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
(May 27,2010) BANNOCKBURN, IL — IPC — Association Connecting Electronics Industries announced the April findings from its monthly North American Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Statistical Program. The book-to-bill ratio just keeps on climbing. It has now been above parity for a full 12 months, indicating a recovery that is gaining momentum. The growth so far this year has been in rigid PCB sales.
Rigid PCB shipments were up 35.7% while bookings increased 40.6% in April 2010 from April 2009. Year to date, rigid PCB shipments were up 14.9% and bookings have grown 34.0%. Compared to the previous month, rigid PCB shipments decreased 12.3% and rigid bookings decreased 15.7%. 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 April 2010 continued its climb to 1.11.
Flexible circuit shipments in April 2010 were down 14.9%, but bookings were up 6.6% compared to April 2009. Year to date, flexible circuit shipments were down 5.5% and bookings were up 7.0%. Compared to the previous month, flexible circuit shipments went down 26.4% and flex bookings declined by 21.5%. In April, the flexible circuit manufacturers in IPC’s survey sample indicated that bare circuits accounted for about 58% of their shipment value reported for the month. The North American flexible circuit book-to-bill ratio in April 2010 remained at 0.98.
For rigid PCBs and flexible circuits combined, industry shipments in April 2010 increased 30.7% from April 2009, as orders booked increased 37.6% from April 2009. Year to date, combined industry shipments were up 13.2% and bookings were up 31.8%. Compared to the previous month, combined industry shipments for April 2010 decreased 13.4% and bookings went down 16.1%. The combined (rigid and flex) industry book-to-bill ratio in April 2010 increased to 1.10.
“The book-to-bill ratio just keeps on climbing,” said IPC president and CEO Denny McGuirk. “It has now been above parity for a full 12 months, indicating a recovery that is gaining momentum. The growth so far this year has been in rigid PCB sales. The month-to-month sales decline from March 2010 reflects normal seasonal effects.”
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 April 2010, 84% of total PCB shipments reported were domestically produced. Domestic production accounted for 84% of rigid PCB and 83% of flexible circuit shipments in April 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.
2009-2010 IPC Book-to-Bill Reports:North American PCB Book-to-Bill Still Strong, Growing in March 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
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