Flexible circuits up over September 2007

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

Rigid PCB shipments are down 3.8% and bookings are down 16.4% in September 2008 from September 2007. Year to date, rigid PCB shipments are up 4.2% and bookings are down 0.8%. Compared to the previous month, rigid PCB shipments increased 4.5% and rigid bookings increased 11.0%. The book-to-bill (B:B) ratio for the North American rigid PCB industry in September 2008 moved up slightly to 0.96.

Flexible circuit shipments in September 2008 are up 9.0% and bookings are up 25.2% compared to September 2007. Year to date, flexible circuit shipments are up 9.0% and bookings are down 5.3%. Compared to the previous month, flexible circuit shipments are down 4.7% and flex bookings increased 50.8%. The North American flexible circuit B:B in September 2008 improved to 0.94.

For rigid PCBs and flexible circuits combined, industry shipments in September 2008 decreased 3.1% from September 2007 and orders booked decreased 14.2% from September 2007. Year to date, combined industry shipments are up 4.5% and bookings are down 1.1%. Compared to the previous month, combined industry shipments for September 2008 are up 3.8% and bookings are up 13.3%. The combined (rigid and flex) industry B:B in September 2008 remained at 0.95.

"Orders and shipments in September showed the usual end-of-quarter increase," says IPC president Denny McGuirk, "but the growth rate appears to be slowing."