IPC releases June 2005 reports

July 29, 2005
JULY 29--IPC-Association Connecting Electronics Industries (Bannockburn, IL; www.ipc.org), a trade association of more than 2200 member companies, has announced its findings from its monthly Interconnect Manufacturing Services/Printed Circuit Board Statistical Program.

JULY 29--IPC-Association Connecting Electronics Industries (Bannockburn, IL; www.ipc.org), a trade association of more than 2200 member companies representing all facets of the electronic interconnection industry, including design, printed-circuit-board manufacturing, and electronics assembly, has announced its findings from its monthly Interconnect Manufacturing Services (IMS)/Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Statistical Program. The North American rigid PCB industry book-to-bill ratio for June 2005 declined but remained positive at 1.01, while the North American flexible circuit book-to-bill ratio jumped to 1.51. These ratios are based on monthly data collected from PCB producers that participate in IPC's monthly PCB Statistical Program. The combined (rigid and flex) industry book-to-bill ratio in June 2005 increased to 1.13, reflecting the month's large jump in flexible circuit bookings. This combined ratio has become less relevant to analysts, however, due to the divergence between the rigid PCB and flexible circuit segments of the industry in growth rates and book-to-bill patterns.

Rigid PCB shipments are down 3.9% and bookings are down 5.8% in June 2005 from June 2004. Year to date, rigid PCB shipments are down 6.4% and bookings are down 3.8%. Rigid PCB shipments from the survey sample increased 13.3% from the previous month and rigid bookings increased 5.3% from the previous month.

Flexible circuit shipments are up 35.7% and bookings are up 260.7% in June 2005 from June 2004. Year to date, flexible-circuit shipments are up 24.3% and bookings are up 10.3%. Compared to the previous month, flexible circuit shipments from the survey sample increased 28.4% and flex bookings increased 141.5%.

For rigid PCBs and flexible circuits combined, industry sales billed (shipments) in June 2005 increased 3.3% from June 2004, and orders booked increased 37.4% from June 2004. Year to date, combined industry shipments are down 1.0% and bookings are down 0.5%. Combined industry shipments for June 2005 are up 16.6% over the previous month, and bookings are up 38.5% over the previous month.

The book-to-bill ratios and growth rates for rigid PCBs and flexible circuits combined are heavily affected by the rigid PCB segment, which represents more than 75% of the current PCB market in North America. The influence of flexible circuits is growing, however, as flexible circuit shipments have shown stronger growth than rigid PCBs over the past two years.

IPC's monthly survey of the North American PCB industry tracks bookings and shipments from US and Canadian facilities, which provide indicators of regional demand. These numbers do not measure US and Canadian PCB production. IPC asks survey participants for the percent of their reported shipments that were produced domestically (that is, in the USA or Canada). In June 2005, 74% of total PCB shipments reported were domestically produced. Domestic production accounted for 86% of rigid PCB and 37% of flexible circuit shipments in June.

Voice Your Opinion

To join the conversation, and become an exclusive member of Vision Systems Design, create an account today!