NOVEMBER 1, 2007--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, has announced its findings from its monthly Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Statistical Program. Rigid PCB shipments were down 6.5%, but bookings were up 16.4% in September 2007 from September 2006. Year to date, rigid PCB shipments were down 9.9% and bookings were down 10.4%. Compared to the previous month, rigid PCB shipments increased 11.3% and rigid bookings increased 15.2%. The book-to-bill ratio for the North American rigid PCB industry in September 2007 climbed to 1.08.
Flexible circuit shipments in September 2007 were down 15.8% and bookings were down 2.8% compared to September 2006. Year to date, flexible-circuit shipments were down 6.7% and bookings were up 5.3%. Compared to the previous month, flexible circuit shipments increased 5.8% and flex bookings were down 10.1%. The North American flexible circuit book-to-bill ratio rose to 1.08 in September.
For rigid PCBs and flexible circuits combined, industry shipments in September 2007 decreased 7.1% from September 2006, and orders booked increased 15.2% from September 2006. Year to date, combined industry shipments were down 9.7% and bookings were down 9.5%. Compared to the previous month, combined industry shipments for September 2007 are up 11.0% and bookings are up 13.6%. The combined (rigid and flex) industry book-to-bill ratio in September 2007 grew to 1.08.
"Although industry sales in North America were still about 10% lower than last year, the book-to-bill ratio climbed steadily over the past three months [July--Sept.]," said IPC president Denny McGuirk. "Based on this indicator and seasonal trends, we expect sales to strengthen in the last quarter of this year," he added.
