North American PCB Industry Continues Its Momentum

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IPC - Association Connecting Electronics Industries announced the October 2019 findings from its North American Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Statistical Program. Sales and orders in October continued to outpace last year with the book-to-bill ratio rising to 1.11.

According to the report, total North American PCB shipments were up 6.2% compared to the same month last year. Year-to-date sales growth as of October is 6.9% ahead of the same period last year. Compared to the preceding month, October shipments decreased 8.9%. PCB bookings in October increased by 2.2% year-over-year. Year-to-date order growth is up to 2.9%. Bookings in October increased by 9.6% from the previous month.

Business for the North American PCB industry continues to outpace last year’s performance. The spike in the book-to-bill ratio to a 19-month high reflects the last three months’ recovery in bookings. These results lay the groundwork for continued sales growth in the next two quarters.

Detailed Data Available

Companies that participate in IPC’s North American PCB Statistical Program have access to detailed findings on rigid PCB and flexible circuit sales and orders, including separate rigid and flex book-to-bill ratios, growth trends by product types and company size tiers, demand for prototypes, sales growth to military and medical markets, and other timely data. 

Interpreting the Data

The book-to-bill ratios are calculated by dividing the value of orders booked over the past three months by the value of sales billed during the same period from companies in IPC’s survey sample. A ratio of more than 1.00 suggests that current demand is ahead of supply, which is a positive indicator for sales growth over the next three to twelve months. A ratio of less than 1.00 indicates the reverse.

Year-on-year and year-to-date growth rates provide the most meaningful view of industry growth. Month-to-month comparisons should be made with caution as they reflect seasonal effects and short-term volatility. Because bookings tend to be more volatile than shipments, changes in the book-to-bill ratios from month to month might not be significant unless a trend of more than three consecutive months is apparent. It is also important to consider changes in both bookings and shipments to understand what is driving changes in the book-to-bill ratio.

IPC’s monthly PCB industry statistics are based on data provided by a representative sample of both rigid PCB and flexible circuit manufacturers selling in the USA and Canada.