-
- 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 Releases Book-to-Bill Ratio for January 2005
March 8, 2005 |Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
BANNOCKBURN, Ill. — IPC—Association Connecting Electronics Industries announces the findings from its monthly PCB Statistical Program. The 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 the companies in IPC's survey sample. A ratio of more than 1.00 suggests that current demand is ahead of supply, which indicates probable near-term growth.
IMS/PCB Book-to-Bill RatioThe North American PCB Industry Book-to-Bill Ratio for January 2005 climbed to 1.08. This ratio is based on monthly data collected from both rigid PCB and flexible circuit producers that participate in IPC's monthly PCB Statistical Program. Separately, the book-to-bill ratios in January 2005 were 1.00 for rigid PCBs and 1.36 for flexible circuits.
Total Industry GrowthFor rigid PCBs and flexible circuits combined, industry sales billed (shipments) in January 2005 increased 19.2% from January 2004, and orders booked increased 31.1% from the same period. Combined industry shipments for January 2005 are up 2.5% over the previous month, and bookings are down 8.3%.
The book-to-bill ratios and growth rates for rigid PCBs and flexible circuits combined are heavily affected by the rigid PCB segment, which represents more than 75% of the current PCB market in North America. The influence of flexible circuits is growing, however, as flexible circuit shipments have shown stronger growth than rigid PCBs over the past 18 months.
Rigid PCB GrowthRigid PCB shipments are up 12.4%, and bookings are up 9.0% in January 2005 from January 2004. Rigid PCB shipments from the survey sample increased 4.8% from the previous month, and rigid bookings increased 9.9% from the same period.
Flexible Circuit GrowthFlexible circuit shipments are up 46.9%, and bookings are up 159.7% in January 2005 from January 2004. Compared to the previous month, flexible circuit shipments from the survey sample increased 1.9%, and flex bookings decreased 37.1%.
The Role of Domestic ProductionIPC'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. Beginning with the January 2005 survey, IPC now asks participants for the percent of their reported shipments that were produced domestically (i.e., in the U.S.A. or Canada). In January 2005, 65% of total PCB shipments reported were domestically produced. Domestic production accounted for 75% of rigid PCB and 31% of flexible circuit shipments in January.
Bare Circuits vs. AssemblyFlexible circuit sales typically include some value-added services, such as assembly, in addition to the bare flex circuits. In January, the flexible circuit manufacturers in IPC's survey sample indicated that bare circuits accounted for about 30% of their shipment value reported for the month.
Interpreting the DataYear-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.
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.A. and Canada. IPC publishes the PCB Book-to-Bill Ratio and the Interconnect Manufacturing Services (IMS) Business Report each month. Statistics for the previous month are not available until the last week of the following month.
For more information, contact Sharon Starr, IPC director of market research, at sharonstarr@ipc.org or (847) 597-2817.