PCB shipments up but bookings down from last July

AUGUST 28, 2008--IPC-Association Connecting Electronics Industries (Bannockburn, IL, USA; www.ipc.org) has announced the July findings from its North American Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Statistical Program.

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% percent and bookings are up 4.4%. Compared to the previous month, rigid PCB shipments decreased 15.9% and rigid bookings decreased 18.1%. The book-to-bill (B:B) 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%. The North American flexible circuit B:B 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%. The combined (rigid and flex) industry B:B 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."