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February Book-to-Bill Rises to 0.99
March 27, 2008 |Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
BANNOCKBURN, Ill. IPC Association Connecting Electronics Industries found that the February book-to-bill ratio for rigid and flex PCBs rose to 0.99, near parity. A rise in rigid PCB bookings drove the increase from 0.97 in January.
Rigid PCB shipments are down 0.7% and bookings are up 15.6% in February 2008 from February 2007. Year to date, rigid PCB shipments are up 2.3% and bookings are up 14.7%. Compared to the previous month, rigid PCB shipments increased 1.7% and rigid bookings increased 20.6%. The book-to-bill ratio for the North American rigid PCB industry in February 2008 crept back up to 0.99.
Flexible circuit shipments in February 2008 are up 5.9% and bookings are up 12.4% compared to February 2007. Year to date, flexible circuit shipments are down 6.2% and bookings are down 5.1%. Compared to the previous month, flexible circuit shipments are up 25.3%and flex bookings rose 27.7%. The North American flexible circuit book-to-bill ratio held steady 0.96.
For rigid PCBs and flexible circuits combined, industry shipments in February 2008 decreased 0.3% from February 2007, and orders booked increased 15.4% from February 2007. Year to date, combined industry shipments are up 1.8% and bookings are up 13.3%. Compared to the previous month, combined industry shipments for February 2008 are up 3.0% and bookings are up 21.0%. The combined rigid and flex industry book-to-bill ratio in February 2008 moved up to 0.99.
Two months into 2008, the industry appears to be holding steady compared to last year. The book-to-bill ratio is showing improvement, which is a positive sign, said Denny McGuirk, IPC president.
Rigid PCBs represent an estimated 88% of the current PCB market in North America, according to IPC's World PCB Production and Laminate Market Report for the Year 2006
In February 2008, 87% of total PCB shipments reported were domestically produced. Domestic production accounted for 87% of rigid PCB and 91% 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.
In February, the flexible circuit manufacturers in IPC's survey sample indicated that bare circuits accounted for approximately 57% of their shipment value reported for the month.
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 U.S. and Canada. 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.
For more information, visit www.ipc.org.