NORTHBROOK, Ill., 29 March 2008. Rigid printed circuit board (PCB) shipments are down 0.7 percent and bookings are up 15.6 percent in February 2008 from February 2007, according to the February 2008 North American Printed Circuit Board Statistical Program of the IPC Association Connecting Electronics Industries in Northbrook, Ill.

"The seasonal month-to-month growth in the rigid PCB segment from January to February is typical," says IPC president Denny McGuirk. "Year-over-year growth is more telling, and although we are only two months into 2008 in terms of available data, the industry appears to be holding steady compared to last year. The book-to-bill ratio is showing improvement, which is a positive sign."

Year to date, rigid PCB shipments are up 2.3 percent and bookings are up 14.7 percent. Compared to the previous month, rigid PCB shipments increased 1.7 percent and rigid bookings increased 20.6 percent. The book-to-bill ratio for the North American rigid PCB industry in February 2008 crept back up to 0.99.

Flexible circuit shipments in February 2008 are up 5.9 percent and bookings are up 12.4 percent compared to February 2007, according to IPC figures. Year to date, flexible circuit shipments are down 6.2 percent and bookings are down 5.1 percent. Compared to the previous month, flexible circuit shipments are up 25.3 percent and flex bookings rose 27.7 percent. The North American flexible circuit book-to-bill ratio held steady 0.96.

For rigid PCBs and flexible circuits combined, industry shipments in February 2008 decreased 0.3 percent from February 2007, and orders booked increased 15.4 percent from February 2007. Year to date, combined industry shipments are up 1.8 percent and bookings are up 13.3 percent. Compared to the previous month, combined industry shipments for February 2008 are up 3.0 percent and bookings are up 21.0 percent. The combined (rigid and flex) industry book-to-bill ratio in February 2008 moved up to 0.99.

This story appeared 27 March in Vision Systems Design. Click here to read the original story.