Shipments of rigid printed circuit boards declined 30.8% and bookings were down 16.6% in June 2009 from June 2008, according to a newly released report from the Association Connecting Electronic Industries, IPC. Year to date, deliveries of rigid printed circuit boards are down 29.3%, with bookings off by 29.6%. Compared to the previous month, shipments of rigid printed circuit boards grew 18.6% and rigid bookings increased 27.9%.
Flexible circuit shipments in June 2009 went down 3.1%, but bookings are up 4% compared to June 2008. Year to date, flexible circuit shipments are up 1.5% and bookings are down 5%. Compared to the previous month, flexible circuit shipments went up 21.3% and flex bookings increased 28.7%.
For rigid printed circuit boards 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%. Compared to the previous month, combined industry shipments for June 2009 increased 18.9% and bookings went up 28%. The combined (rigid and flex) industry book-to-bill ratio in June 2009 climbed to 1.11. (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.)
"Although printed circuit board sales in June were still well below last year’s levels, the growth rates are improving,” said 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. That will help to drive stronger sales growth in the coming months.”
The full IPC report provides more details on the monthly survey.
