-
- 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
July Book-to-Bill Steady
August 27, 2008 |Estimated reading time: 1 minute
BANNOCKBURN, Ill. IPC Association Connecting Electronics Industries released its monthly North American PCB Statistical Program report, showing that the combined rigid and flex PCB industries posted a 0.94 book-to-bill ratio in July, maintaining a higher rate of activity than the same time last year.
Rigid PCB shipments are up 5.3% and bookings are down 8.0% in July 2008 from July 2007. Year to date, rigid PCB shipments are up 5.7% and bookings are up 4.4%. Compared to the previous month, rigid PCB shipments decreased 15.9% and rigid bookings decreased 18.1%. 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 July 2008 remained at 0.94.
Flexible circuit shipments in July 2008 are up 31.8% and bookings are up 9.9% compared to July 2007. Year to date, flexible circuit shipments are up 7.7% and bookings are down 6.5%. Compared to the previous month, flexible circuit shipments are down 1.5% and flex bookings declined 11.8%. Bare circuits accounted for approximately 56% of flex circuit shipment value reported for the month. The North American flexible circuit book-to-bill ratio in July 2008 registered 1.01.
For rigid PCBs and flexible circuits combined, industry shipments in July 2008 increased 6.9% from July 2007 and orders booked decreased 6.9% from July 2007. Year to date, combined industry shipments are up 5.8% and bookings are up 3.6%. Compared to the previous month, combined industry shipments for July 2008 are down 15.0% and bookings are down 17.6%. The combined (rigid and flex) industry book-to-bill ratio in July 2008 was 0.94.
"Shipment growth continued to outpace growth in orders for the fourth consecutive month," said IPC President Denny McGuirk. "This has pulled down the book-to-bill ratio. PCB shipments are up compared to the same month last year, however, and that is a positive indicator for recovery."
In July 2008, 86% of total PCB shipments reported were domestically produced. Domestic production accounted for 86% of rigid PCB and 88% 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 change slightly in January, but remain constant through the remainder of the year.
For more information, visit www.ipc.org.