JULY 1, 2008--IPC-Association Connecting Electronics Industries (Northbrook, IL, USA; www.ipc.org), a global trade association of 2400 member companies representing all facets of the electronic interconnection industry, has announced its findings from its May 2008 Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Statistical Program. Rigid PCB shipments were up 5.7% and bookings were down 4.1%. Compared to the previous month, rigid PCB shipments decreased 0.1% and rigid bookings decreased 5.7%. The book-to-bill ratio for the North American rigid PCB industry in May 2008 declined to 0.95.

Flexible circuit shipments in May 2008 are down 3.5% and bookings are down 5.0% compared to May 2007. Year to date, flexible circuit shipments are up 3.3% and bookings are down 12.5%. Compared to the previous month, flexible circuit shipments are down 9.3% and flex bookings rose 1.1%. The North American flexible circuit book-to-bill ratio climbed above parity to 1.01.

For rigid PCBs and flexible circuits combined, industry shipments in May 2008 increased 5.1% from May 2007 and orders booked decreased 4.2% from May 2007. Year to date, combined industry shipments are up 6.2% and bookings are up 7.5%. Compared to the previous month, combined industry shipments for May 2008 are down 0.7% and bookings are down 5.2%. The combined (rigid and flex) industry book-to-bill ratio in May 2008 fell to 0.96.

"Rigid PCB shipments have outpaced bookings in the last two months, which drove down the book-to-bill ratio for the industry," said IPC president Denny McGuirk. "Overall industry growth this year is still modest but steady."

Tue Jul 01 08:20:00 CDT 2008