Industry sees combined PCB B:B of 1.11 in June 2009

JULY 30, 2009--IPC - Association Connecting Electronics Industries (Bannockburn, IL, USA; www.ipc.org)has announced the June findings from its monthly North American Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Statistical Program.

Rigid PCB shipments declined 30.8% and bookings were down 16.6% in June 2009 from June 2008. Year-to-date, rigid PCB shipments are down 29.3% and bookings fell by 29.6%. Compared to the previous month, rigid PCB shipments grew 18.6% and rigid bookings increased 27.9%. The book-to-bill (B:B) ratio for the North American rigid PCB industry in June 2009 continued climbing to 1.12.

Flexible circuit shipments in June 2009 went down 3.1%, but bookings are up 4.0% compared to June 2008. Year-to-date, flexible circuit shipments are up 1.5% and bookings are down 5.0%. Compared to the previous month, flexible circuit shipments went up 21.3% and flex bookings increased 28.7%. The North American flexible circuit B:B ratio in June 2009 reached 1.02.

For rigid PCBs and flexible circuits combined, industry shipments in June 2009 decreased 29.0% from June 2008 and orders booked decreased 15.1% from June 2008. Year-to-date, combined industry shipments are down 27.3% and bookings are down 28.0%. Compared to the previous month, combined industry shipments for June 2009 increased 18.9% and bookings went up 28.0%. The combined (rigid and flex) industry B:B ratio in June 2009 climbed to 1.11.

"Although PCB sales in June were still well below last year's levels, the growth rates are improving," says IPC president Denny McGuirk. "Bookings are recovering and that is reflected in the book-to-bill ratio, which is the highest we've seen in over three years," he adds. "That will help to drive stronger sales growth in the coming months."

The B:B 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 six months.

-- Posted by Vision Systems Design, www.vision-systems.com