North American electronic circuit board sales to remain flat through the rest of 2014, IPC says

BANNOCKBURN, Ill., 12 Nov. 2014. Industry shipments of printed circuit boards increased in September by 10.1 percent in the U.S. and Canada over the previous month, yet were down 2.8 percent from the same month last year, say analysts at the IPC-Association Connecting Electronics Industries in Bannockburn, Ill.

The year-over-year drop in circuit board shipments reduced year-to-date shipment growth to -1.2 percent, IPC analysts say, explaining that a slump in sales and orders is typical for September.

Circuit board bookings, meanwhile, increased by 10.6 percent compared to September 2013, improving the year-to-date order growth rate to -4.2 percent. Order growth jumped 17 percent in September compared to the previous month. The North American PCB book-to-bill ratio declined to 0.99 in September.

"The trend indicates a likelihood of flat sales growth through the remainder of 2014," says Sharon Starr, IPC's director of market research. "A continuation of strong order growth in the last quarter could pull PCB shipments out of the current doldrums."

For more information contact the IPC online at www.ipc.org.