NOVEMBER 25, 2008--IPC (Bannockburn, IL, USA; www.ipc.org) has announced the October findings from its monthly North American Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Statistical Program.
Rigid PCB shipments are down 5.9% and bookings are down 17.4% in October 2008 from October 2007. Year to date, rigid PCB shipments are up 3.2% and bookings are down 2.5%. Compared to the previous month, rigid PCB shipments decreased 12.8% and rigid bookings decreased 17.6%. The book-to-bill (B:B) ratio for the North American rigid PCB industry in October 2008 slipped slightly to 0.95.
Flexible circuit shipments in October 2008 are up 8.8% and bookings are up 25.9% compared to October 2007. Year to date, flexible circuit shipments are up 9.0% and bookings are down 2.4%. Compared to the previous month, flexible circuit shipments are up 10.0% and flex bookings increased 2.5%. The North American flexible circuit B:B ratio in October 2008 jumped up to 1.00.
For rigid PCBs and flexible circuits combined, industry shipments in October 2008 decreased 4.8% from October 2007 and orders booked decreased 14.6% from October 2007. Year to date, combined industry shipments are up 3.6% and bookings are down 2.5%. Compared to the previous month, combined industry shipments for October 2008 are down 11.3% and bookings are down 16.0%. The combined (rigid and flex) industry B:B ratio in October 2008 increased slightly to 0.96.
"Rigid PCB orders and shipments in October declined a bit more than normal in October, due to weakening demand, but year-to-date growth over last year is still positive," says IPC president Denny McGuirk. "The flexible circuit segment showed surprisingly strong growth in October," he adds. "Shipments for the month were at their highest level in more than three years."
