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February PCB Industry Results Show Consistent Growth
March 25, 2010 |Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
BANNOCKBURN, IL — IPC — Association Connecting Electronics Industries released the February findings from its monthly North American Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Statistical Program, showing that the combined rigid and flex circuit book-to-bill ratio grew, heavily influenced by the rigid circuit board segment.
“Rigid PCB bookings have outpaced shipments for the past 11 months. That’s reflected in the high rigid PCB book-to-bill ratio and it’s an encouraging indicator of future growth,” said IPC president & CEO Denny McGuirk. Rigid PCB shipments were up 9.4% while bookings increased 36.4% in February 2010 from February 2009. Year to date, rigid PCB shipments were up 3.6% and bookings have grown 27.9%. Compared to the previous month, rigid PCB shipments increased 4.7% and rigid bookings increased 8.1%. 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 February 2010 grew to 1.09.
Flexible circuit shipments in February 2010 were down 2.1%, but bookings were down 37.4% compared to February 2009. Year to date, flexible circuit shipments were down 3.1% and bookings were down 0.4%. Compared to the previous month, flexible circuit shipments went up 4.9% and flex bookings fell by 36.4%. In February, 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 fell below parity to 0.92. “We saw a big drop in flexible circuit orders in February, but no sign of a trend yet, due to the volatility of flex orders and sales,” noted McGuirk.
For rigid PCBs and flexible circuits combined, industry shipments in February 2010 increased 8.5% from February 2009, as orders booked increased 29.1% from February 2009. Year to date, combined industry shipments were up 3.0% and bookings were up 25.6%. Compared to the previous month, combined industry shipments for February 2010 increased 4.8% and bookings went up 4.5%. The combined (rigid and flex) industry book-to-bill ratio in February 2010 increased to 1.07.
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 February 2010, 83% of total PCB shipments reported were domestically produced. Domestic production accounted for 85% of rigid PCB and 68% of flexible circuit shipments in February 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:IPC 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
For more information, visit www.ipc.org
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