PCB industry holding steady

MARCH 27, 2008--IPC-Association Connecting Electronics Industries (Northbrook, IL, USA;www.ipc.org), a global trade association of 2400 member companies representing all facets of the electronic interconnection industry, has announced its findings from its February 2008 North American Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Statistical Program. 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.

"The seasonal month-to-month growth in the rigid PCB segment from January to February is typical," said IPC president Denny McGuirk. "Year-over-year growth is more telling," he added, "and although we are only two months into 2008 in terms of available data, the industry appears to be holding steady compared to last year. The book-to-bill ratio is showing improvement, which is a positive sign."