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May Book-to-Bill Slips Below Parity
July 1, 2008 |Estimated reading time: 1 minute
BANNOCKBURN, Ill. IPC Association Connecting Electronics Industries found that the combined rigid and flex PCB book-to-bill ratio fell below parity, breaking a trend of climbing ratios, in its monthly North American Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Statistical Program. The flexible circuits segment experienced some growth, ascending to 1.01.
Rigid PCB shipments are up 5.7% and bookings are down 4.1% in May 2008 from May 2007. Year to date, rigid PCB shipments are up 6.4% and bookings are up 9.4%. Compared to the previous month, rigid PCB shipments decreased 0.1% and rigid bookings decreased 5.7%. The book-to-bill ratio for the North American rigid PCB industry in May 2008 declined to 0.95. 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."
Flexible circuit shipments in May 2008 are down 3.5% and bookings are down 5.0% compared to May 2007. Year to date, flexible circuit shipments are up 3.3% and bookings are down 12.5%. Compared to the previous month, flexible circuit shipments are down 9.3% and flex bookings rose 1.1%. The North American flexible circuit book-to-bill ratio climbed above parity to 1.01. In May, the flexible circuit manufacturers in IPC's survey sample indicated that bare circuits accounted for approximately 62% of their shipment value reported for the month.
For rigid PCBs and flexible circuits combined, industry shipments in May 2008 increased 5.1% from May 2007 and orders booked decreased 4.2% from May 2007. Year to date, combined industry shipments are up 6.2% and bookings are up 7.5%. Compared to the previous month, combined industry shipments for May 2008 are down 0.7% and bookings are down 5.2%. The combined (rigid and flex) industry book-to-bill ratio in May 2008 fell to 0.96.
"Rigid PCB shipments have outpaced bookings in the last two months, which drove down the book-to-bill ratio for the industry," said IPC President Denny McGuirk. "Overall industry growth this year is still modest but steady." 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. In May 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 May by IPC survey participants.
For more information, visit www.ipc.org.