The Association Connecting Electronics Industries, or IPC, released the findings from its monthly North American Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Statistical Program for June 2012.Following are the highlights: Rigid PCB shipments were down 7.3 percent in June 2012 from June 2011, and bookings decreased 2.0 percent year over year. Year to date, rigid PCB shipments decreased 5.4 percent, but bookings increased 2.1 percent. Compared to the previous month, rigid PCB shipments were up 11.6 percent and rigid bookings gained 11.8 percent. Flexible circuit shipments in June 2012 were up 2.1 percent, and bookings were down 8.4 percent compared to June 2011. Year to date, flexible circuit shipments decreased 7.1 percent and bookings decreased 3.4 percent. Compared to the previous month, flexible circuit shipments increased 29.7 percent and flex bookings were up 14.9 percent. For rigid PCBs and flexible circuits combined, industry shipments in June 2012 decreased 6.6 percent from June 2011 and orders booked decreased 2.7 percent from June 2011. Year to date, combined industry shipments were down 5.6 percent and bookings were up 1.6 percent. Compared to the previous month, combined industry shipments for June 2012 increased 13.0 percent and bookings increased 12.1 percent. The book-to-bill ratio for the North American rigid PCB industry in June 2012 continued to slip, but remained above parity at 1.01. 1 The North American flexible circuit book-to-bill ratio remained high at 1.16. The combined (rigid and flex) industry book-to-bill ratio in June 2012 decreased slightly, but continued in positive territory at 1.02. “North American PCB sales and orders were up in June compared to the previous month, which is consistent with seasonal patterns,” said Sharon Starr, IPC director of market research. “Rigid PCB business continued below last year’s levels, but orders continue to outpace sales, which is encouraging. The June book-to-bill ratios remained in positive territory for the seventh consecutive month and maintained an especially strong performance in the flexible circuit segment of the industry.” The complete June IPC Report is available online. REFERENCES
- The book-to-bill 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 three months.
