MAY 26--IPC-Association Connecting Electronics Industries (Northbrook, 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 April 2005 inched downward but stayed positive at 1.03, while the North American flexible circuit book-to-bill ratio fell to 0.87. These ratios are based on monthly data collected from PCB producers that participate in IPC's monthly PCB Statistical Program. The combined industry book-to-bill ratio in April 2005 dropped to 1.00. 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 10.0%, and bookings are down 4.5% in April 2005 from April 2004. Year to date, rigid PCB shipments are down 5.9%, and bookings are down 4.8%. Rigid PCB shipments from the survey sample decreased 19.3% from the previous month, and rigid bookings decreased 18.2% from the previous month.
Flexible circuit shipments are up 17.9%, and bookings are down 12.8% in April 2005 from April 2004. Year to date, flexible circuit shipments are up 26.2%, and bookings are down 5.0%. Compared to the previous month, flexible circuit shipments from the survey sample increased 14.3% and flex bookings increased 23.5%.
For rigid PCBs and flexible circuits combined, industry sales billed (shipments) in April 2005 decreased 4.5% from April 2004, and orders booked decreased 6.5% from April 2004. Year to date, combined industry shipments are down 0.3% and bookings are down 4.8%. Combined industry shipments for April 2005 are down 13.0% over the previous month, and bookings are down 11.7% 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 18 months.