IPC releases PCB industry results for March 2009

BANNOCKBURN, Ill., USA: IPC — Association Connecting Electronics Industries recently announced the March 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 30.5 percent and bookings are down 39.8 percent in March 2009 from March 2008. Year to date, rigid PCB shipments are down 24.6 percent and bookings are down 35.6 percent. Compared to the previous month, rigid PCB shipments increased 9.6 percent and rigid bookings increased 10.5 percent. The book-to-bill ratio for the North American rigid PCB industry in March 2009 remained below parity but moved up slightly to 0.92.

Flexible circuit shipments in March 2009 are up 1.0 percent, and bookings are down 12.0 percent compared to March 2008. Year to date, flexible circuit shipments are up 6.0 percent and bookings are down 7.4 percent. Compared to the previous month, flexible circuit shipments are up 22.3 percent and flex bookings are up 15.0 percent. The North American flexible circuit book-to-bill ratio in March 2009 dropped to 0.87.

For rigid PCBs and flexible circuits combined, industry shipments in March 2009 decreased 28.3 percent from March 2008 and orders booked decreased 38.0 percent from March 2008. Year to date, combined industry shipments are down 22.7 percent and bookings are down 34.0 percent. Compared to the previous month, combined industry shipments for March 2009 are up 10.7 percent and bookings are up 10.9 percent. The combined (rigid and flex) industry book-to-bill ratio in March 2009 was 0.91.

“Sales and orders improved in March over the first two months of the year due to seasonal effects, but year-on-year growth in rigid PCBs is still down significantly,” said IPC President Denny McGuirk. “Orders are still lagging behind sales, which suggests that sales will continue to weaken for the next quarter.”

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.

Source: IPC