IPC releases April PCB industry results

BANNOCKBURN, USA: IPC — Association Connecting Electronics Industries recently announced the April findings from its monthly North American Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Statistical Program.

Rigid PCB shipments are up 12.2 percent and bookings are up 5.6 percent in April 2008 from April 2007.  Year to date, rigid PCB shipments are up 6.6 percent and bookings are up 12.9 percent.  Compared to the previous month, rigid PCB shipments decreased 14.7 percent and rigid bookings decreased 19.3 percent.  The book-to-bill ratio for the North American rigid PCB industry in April 2008 edged up above parity to 1.01.

Flexible circuit shipments in April 2008 are up 22.8 percent and bookings are down 4.8 percent compared to April 2007. Year to date, flexible circuit shipments are up 5.0 percent and bookings are down 14.3 percent. Compared to the previous month, flexible circuit shipments are down 12.5 percent and flex bookings fell 16.8 percent. The North American flexible circuit book-to-bill ratio remained at 0.99.

For rigid PCBs and flexible circuits combined, industry shipments in April 2008 increased 12.9 percent from April 2007, and orders booked increased 4.8 percent from April 2007. Year to date, combined industry shipments are up 6.5 percent and bookings are up 10.6 percent.  Compared to the previous month, combined industry shipments for April 2008 are down 14.6 percent and bookings are down 19.1 percent. The combined (rigid and flex) industry book-to-bill ratio in April 2008 reached 1.01.

“The industry continues to show improvement over the same period last year,” said IPC President Denny McGuirk. “The book-to-bill ratio is holding steady, although shipments outpaced bookings in April.”