Bannockburn, Ill. — IPC — Association Connecting Electronics Industries® announced the December findings from its monthly North American Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Statistical Program.

 

Rigid PCB shipments declined 3.4 percent, but bookings were up 27.3 percent in December 2009 from December 2008. Year to date, rigid PCB shipments were down 23.2 percent and bookings fell by 18.1 percent. Compared to the previous month, rigid PCB shipments increased 13.2 percent and rigid bookings increased 23.3 percent. The book-to-bill ratio for the North American rigid PCB industry in December 2009 registered 1.05.

 

Flexible circuit shipments in December 2009 went down 0.4 percent and bookings decreased 27.4 percent compared to December 2008. Year to date, flexible circuit shipments were down 1.1 percent and bookings were down 4.9 percent. Compared to the previous month, flexible circuit shipments went up 4.9 percent and flex bookings fell by 2.9 percent. The North American flexible circuit book-to-bill ratio in December 2009 slipped back to 0.95.

 

For rigid PCBs and flexible circuits combined, industry shipments in December 2009 decreased 3.2 percent from December 2008, and orders booked increased 22.1 percent from December 2008. Year to date, combined industry shipments were down 21.7 percent and bookings were down 17.2 percent. Compared to the previous month, combined industry shipments for December 2009 increased 12.6 percent and bookings went up 21.5 percent. The combined (rigid and flex) industry book-to-bill ratio in December 2009 dipped but remained positive at 1.04.

 

“Growth rates in both sales and orders continued to improve in the rigid PCB sector in December,” said IPC President Denny McGuirk. “Orders continued to outpace sales, which is keeping the rigid PCB book-to-bill ratio positive. Although the flexible circuit business was lackluster in December, both sectors of the PCB industry in North America showed typical seasonal patterns. The recovery is continuing, but the road back up is proving to be a long one.”

 

For more information, visit www.ipc.org.