According to IPC, rigid printed circuit board shipments were up 31.4% in May 2010 compared to May 2009 while bookings increased 45.8%. Year to date, rigid printed circuit board shipments were up 18% and bookings have grown 36.3%. Compared to the previous month, rigid printed circuit board shipments increased 1.3% and rigid bookings increased 6.5%.
Other findings from IPC’s report: Flexible circuit shipments in May 2010 were up 10.5%, and bookings were up 59.3% compared to May 2009. Year to date, flexible circuit shipments were down 2.6% and bookings were up 16.7%. Compared to the previous month, flexible circuit shipments went up 16% and flex bookings grew by 33.4%.
For rigid printed circuit board s and flexible circuits combined, industry shipments in May 2010 increased 29.6% from May 2009, as orders booked increased 46.8% from May 2009. Year to date, combined industry shipments were up 16.2% and bookings were up 34.7%. Compared to the previous month, combined industry shipments for May 2010 increased 2.2% and bookings went up 8.3%.
“Both yearly and monthly growth rates in the North American printed circuit board industry are now positive,” said Denny McGuirk, IPC president and CEO. “That means the industry is not only doing better than last year, but is growing monthly as well.”
McGuirk added that orders appear to be growing even faster, thereby lifting the overall book-to-bill ratio. According to IPC, the book-to-bill ratio for the North American rigid PCB industry in May 2010 continued its climb to 1.13, with the North American flexible circuit book-to-bill ratio making a long leap up to 1.18 over the same period. The combined rigid and flexible industry book-to-bill ratio in May 2010 increased to 1.13. (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 short term.)
Visit IPC’s website to view the full report.