Bannockburn, Ill. — Shipments of rigid PCBs and flexible circuits in July 2011 decreased 12.1 percent from July 2010, while orders booked decreased 16.0 percent from July 2010, according to the monthly North American Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Statistical Program report from IPC —Association Connecting Electronics Industries.
The report also finds that combined (rigid and flexible) industry shipments were up 2.4 percent and bookings were down 8.5 percent year to date. Compared to the previous month, combined industry shipments and bookings for July 2011 decreased 24.2 percent and 20.8 percent, respectively. The combined July industry book-to-bill ratio rose to just above parity at 1.01.
“July is typically a slower month than June for the PCB industry,” stated IPC president & CEO Denny McGuirk. “Negative year-on-year growth rates in North American PCB sales and orders for July reflect slowing growth compared to the height of the recovery one year ago. The good news is the book-to-bill ratio remains just above parity, largely due to the continued strength of flexible circuit orders.”
Here’s the report breakdown.
Shipments and bookings of rigid PCB shipments were down 10.2 percent and 17.0 percent, respectively, in July 2011 from July 2010. Year to date, rigid PCB shipments increased 2.3 percent and bookings declined 10.0 percent. Compared to the previous month, rigid PCB shipments and bookings decreased 24.8 percent and 19.0 percent, respectively. The July book-to-bill ratio for the North American rigid PCB industry remained near parity at 0.99.
Flexible circuit shipments and bookings in July 2011 fell 28.3 percent and 4.5 percent, respectively, compared to July 2010. Year to date, flexible circuit shipments and bookings increased 3.2 percent and 8.0 percent, respectively. Compared to the previous month, flexible circuit shipments and bookings decreased 17.8 percent and 34.9 percent, respectively. The North American flexible circuit book-to-bill ratio in July climbed to 1.20.