IPC - Association Connecting Electronics Industries announced today the November findings from its monthly North American Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Statistical Program.
PCB Industry Growth Rates and Book-to-Bill Ratios Announced
Rigid PCB shipments are down 5.8 percent and bookings are down 17.3 percent in November 2008 from November 2007. Year to date, rigid PCB shipments are up 2.4 percent and bookings are down 3.8 percent. Compared to the previous month, rigid PCB shipments decreased 0.2 percent and rigid bookings decreased 5.8 percent. The book-to-bill ratio for the North American rigid PCB industry in November 2008 slipped slightly to 0.94.
Flexible circuit shipments in November 2008 are down 22.6 percent and bookings are down 36.8 percent compared to November 2007. Year to date, flexible circuit shipments are up 5.8 percent and bookings are down 5.5 percent. Compared to the previous month, flexible circuit shipments are down 25.2 percent and flex bookings decreased 45.4 percent. The North American flexible circuit book-to-bill ratio in November 2008 increased to 1.04.
For rigid PCBs and flexible circuits combined, industry shipments in November 2008 decreased 7.0 percent from November 2007 and orders booked decreased 18.8 percent from November 2007. Year to date, combined industry shipments are up 2.6 percent and bookings are down 3.9 percent. Compared to the previous month, combined industry shipments for November 2008 are down 2.3 percent and bookings are down 9.5 percent. The combined (rigid and flex) industry book-to-bill ratio in November 2008 dipped to 0.94.
"PCB orders and shipments continued to decline in November, with flexible circuits being especially hard hit," said IPC President Denny McGuirk. "The flex segment is always more volatile, however, and the current month's poor performance followed an unusually strong October," he added. "Overall, the industry's sales are slowing as the recession deepens. We expect total industry sales to end the year at about the same level as 2007."
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.
Book-to-bill ratios and growth rates for rigid PCBs and flexible circuits combined are heavily affected by the rigid PCB segment. Rigid PCBs represent an estimated 90 percent of the current PCB industry in North America, according to IPC's World PCB Production and Laminate Market Report.