Rigid PCB shipments were down 4.2 percent and bookings were down 6.5 percent in August 2011 from August 2010, according to a newly released report from the Association Connecting Electronic Industries. Year to date, rigid PCB shipments increased 1.5 percent and bookings declined 9.6 percent. Compared to the previous month, rigid PCB shipments increased 13.7 percent and rigid bookings increased 15.4 percent. The book-to-bill ratio for the North American rigid PCB industry in August 2011 was at parity at 1.00.Flexible circuit shipments in August 2011 were down 6.5 percent and bookings declined 21.4 percent compared to August 2010. Year to date, flexible circuit shipments increased 1.9 percent and bookings increased 3.6 percent. Compared to the previous month, flexible circuit shipments increased 14.0 percent and flex bookings were up 3.2 percent. The North American flexible circuit book-to-bill ratio in August 2011 remained high at 1.14.For rigid PCBs and flexible circuits combined, industry shipments in August 2011 decreased 4.4 percent from August 2010, as orders booked decreased 8.0 percent from August 2010. Year to date, combined industry shipments were up 1.5 percent and bookings were down 8.5 percent. Compared to the previous month, combined industry shipments for August 2011 increased 13.7 percent and bookings increased 14.3 percent. The combined (rigid and flex) industry book-to-bill ratio in August 2011 remained above parity at 1.02.“Although North American PCB sales in August continued below last year’s levels, growth picked up from July to August,” said Denny McGuirk, IPC president & CEO. “The book-to-bill ratio has been trending upward for the past five months, which suggests that sales should hold up through the rest of this year.”The complete August 2011 PCB Report is available online.
