Printed circuit board bookings increase in June: first year-on-year increase in eight months

Aug. 4, 2014
BANNOCKBURN, Ill., 4 Aug. 2014. Bookings of printed circuit boards in the U.S. and Canada increased 4.2 percent in June, which was the first year-on-year bookings increase in eight months, say officials of the IPC - Association Connecting Electronics Industries in Bannockburn, Ill.

BANNOCKBURN, Ill., 4 Aug. 2014. Bookings of printed circuit boards in the U.S. and Canada increased 4.2 percent in June, which was the first year-on-year bookings increase in eight months, say officials of the IPC - Association Connecting Electronics Industries in Bannockburn, Ill.

This increase improved year-to-date order growth, which now stands at -6.0 percent. Order growth jumped 28.3 percent in June over the previous month, officials say.

Total North American PCB shipments, meanwhile, decreased 0.9 percent in June 2014 from June 2013, leaving year-to-date shipment growth flat at -0.3 percent. Compared to the previous month, PCB shipments were up 9.1 percent.

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The North American PCB book-to-bill ratio returned to parity at 1.00 in June. "The PCB book-to-bill ratio has been hovering around 1.00 since February, which explains the flat year-to-date sales growth we are seeing," says Sharon Starr, IPC's director of market research. "This month's growth in orders is a positive sign, however, and if it continues we can expect to see sales improve later this year."

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 three to six months. A ratio of less than 1.00 indicates the reverse, officials say.

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

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