IPC figures show rigid printed circuit board shipments declined 14 percent and bookings were down 2.1 percent in October 2009 from October 2008. Year to date, rigid printed circuit board shipments were down 26 percent and bookings fell by 22.7 percent. Compared to the previous month, rigid printed circuit board shipments declined 7.8 percent and rigid bookings decreased 16.2 percent. The book-to-bill ratio for the North American rigid printed circuit board industry in October 2009 increased slightly to 1.10. Note: A ratio of more than 1.00 suggests current demand is ahead of supply, a positive indicator for sales growth over the next two to six months.
Flexible circuit shipments in October 2009 went up 4.3 percent and bookings decreased 2.6 percent compared to October 2008. Year to date, flexible circuit shipments were down 0.9 percent and bookings were down 4.7 percent. Compared to the previous month, flexible circuit shipments went down 14.1 percent and flex bookings fell by 30.9 percent. The North American flexible circuit book-to-bill ratio in October 2009 climbed to 1.00.
“Although year-on-year growth rates are still mostly negative, we can see a positive growth trend in North American printed circuit board sales and orders compared to most earlier months in 2009,” said Denny McGuirk, IPC president. “Declines in sales from September to October of this year reflect a seasonal trend that we typically see at the beginning of a new quarter. The overall trend, however, is upward and that is also reflected in the book-to-bill ratio, which has remained high for the past six months.”
The full report is available online from IPC.
