-
- News
- Books
Featured Books
- smt007 Magazine
Latest Issues
Current IssueBox Build
One trend is to add box build and final assembly to your product offering. In this issue, we explore the opportunities and risks of adding system assembly to your service portfolio.
IPC APEX EXPO 2024 Pre-show
This month’s issue devotes its pages to a comprehensive preview of the IPC APEX EXPO 2024 event. Whether your role is technical or business, if you're new-to-the-industry or seasoned veteran, you'll find value throughout this program.
Boost Your Sales
Every part of your business can be evaluated as a process, including your sales funnel. Optimizing your selling process requires a coordinated effort between marketing and sales. In this issue, industry experts in marketing and sales offer their best advice on how to boost your sales efforts.
- Articles
- Columns
Search Console
- Links
- Events
||| MENU - smt007 Magazine
IPC's July Book-to-bill Stays Just Above Parity
August 26, 2009 |Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
BANNOCKBURN, IL IPC Association Connecting Electronics Industries announced today the July findings from its monthly North American Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Statistical Program. The combined (rigid and flex) industry book-to-bill ratio in July 2009 retreated to 1.07. Booking to billing ratios for rigid PCBs stayed above parity, though the ratio for flexible circuits dropped below 1.00
"After the encouraging results in June, rigid PCB sales in July fell back to the negative growth rates of prior months and flexible circuit growth rates continued to decline," said IPC President Denny McGuirk. "The year-on-year growth rates in rigid PCBs and for PCBs overall continue to improve each month, although they are still negative. For the industry as a whole, the book-to-bill ratio remains positive."
Rigid PCB shipments declined 26.2% and bookings were down 22.3% in July 2009 from July 2008. Year to date, rigid PCB shipments were down 28.9% and bookings fell by 28.7%. Compared to the previous month, rigid PCB shipments fell 11.8% and rigid bookings decreased 22.9%. Rigid PCBs represent an estimated 91% 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 July 2009 pulled back slightly to 1.09.
Flexible circuit shipments in July 2009 went down 14.9% and bookings declined 32.9% compared to July 2008. Year to date, flexible circuit shipments were down 1.0% and bookings were down 9.0%. Compared to the previous month, flexible circuit shipments went down 17.8% and flex bookings decreased 41.6%. In July, the flexible circuit manufacturers in IPC's survey sample indicated that bare circuits accounted for approximately 76% of their shipment value reported for the month. The North American flexible circuit book-to-bill ratio in July 2009 fell back to 0.94.
For rigid PCBs and flexible circuits combined, industry shipments in July 2009 decreased 25.3% from July 2008 and orders booked decreased 23.1% from July 2008. Year to date, combined industry shipments were down 27.1% and bookings were down 27.4%. Compared to the previous month, combined industry shipments for July 2009 decreased 12.3% and bookings went down 24.5%. The combined (rigid and flex) industry book-to-bill ratio in July 2009 retreated to 1.07.
In July 2009, 88% of total PCB shipments reported were domestically produced. Domestic production accounted for 88% of rigid PCB and 85% of flexible circuit shipments in July by IPC survey participants. These numbers are significantly affected by the mix of companies in IPC's survey sample, which may change slightly in January, but are kept constant through the calendar 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 six 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.
The information in IPC's monthly PCB industry statistics is based on data provided by a representative sample of both rigid and flexible PCB manufacturers in the USA and Canada. IPC publishes the PCB Book-to-Bill Ratio and the PCB Statistical Program Report each month. Fore more information, visit www.ipc.org.
2009 Book-to-Bill Reports: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 Released Rigid PCB Book-to-Bill Remains Low in February, Flex Moves UpJanuary PCB Book-to-Bill Drops to 0.89