SEPTEMBER 29--IPC--Association Connecting Electronics Industries (Bannockburn, IL, USA; www.ipc.org), a global trade association of 2400 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 Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Statistical Program. The North American rigid PCB industry book-to-bill ratio for August 2006 increased to 1.06. The North American flexible circuit book-to-bill ratio also grew to 1.05.
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 August 2006 was 1.05. Some analysts find the separate ratios for rigid and flex more meaningful than the combined ratio because of the divergence in recent years between the rigid PCB and flexible circuit segments of the industry in growth rates and book-to-bill patterns.
Rigid PCB shipments are up 8.0% and bookings are up 7.7% in August 2006 from August 2005. Year to date, rigid PCB shipments are up 10.6% and bookings are up 13.8%. Rigid PCB shipments from the survey sample increased 15.6% from the previous month and rigid bookings increased 16.9% from the previous month.
Flexible circuit shipments in August 2006 were up 27.0% and bookings were up 30.5% compared to August 2005. Year to date, flexible circuit shipments are up 4.5% and bookings are down 8.4%. Compared to the previous month, flexible circuit shipments from the survey sample increased 20.7% and flex bookings increased 30.9%.
For rigid PCBs and flexible circuits combined, industry shipments in August 2006 increased 9.3% from August 2005, and orders booked increased 9.0% from August 2005. Year to date, combined industry shipments are up 10.2% and bookings are up 12.1%. Combined industry shipments for August 2006 are up 16.0% over the previous month, and bookings are up 17.8% over the previous month.
The information in IPC's monthly PCB industry statistics is based on data provided by a representative sample of both rigid and flexible PCB manufacturers in the USA and Canada. IPC publishes the PCB Book-to-Bill Ratio and the Interconnect Manufacturing Services (IMS) Business Report each month. Statistics for the previous month are not available until the last week of the following month.
