The Association Connecting Electronics Industries (IPC) has unveiled its North American Printed Circuit Board (PCB) statistics for the month of April. Following are some highlights: Rigid PCB shipments were down 37.1% and bookings were down 26.9% in April 2009 from April 2008. Year to date, rigid PCB shipments are down 27.7% and bookings are down 33.7%. Compared to the previous month, rigid PCB shipments declined 22.6% and rigid bookings decreased 5.5%. The book-to-bill ratio for the North American rigid PCB industry in April 2009 increased to 0.98. (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 two to three months.)
Flexible circuit shipments in April 2009 were down 2.1%, and bookings were off 0.3% compared to April 2008. Year to date, flexible circuit shipments are up 3.9% and bookings are down 5.5%. Compared to the previous month, flexible circuit shipments declined 14.9% and flex bookings were down 1.5%. The North American flexible circuit book-to-bill ratio in April 2009 improved to 0.94.
For rigid PCBs and flexible circuits combined, industry shipments in April 2009 decreased 34.7% from April 2008 and orders booked decreased 25.1% from April 2008. Year to date, combined industry shipments are down 25.7% and bookings are down 32%. Compared to the previous month, combined industry shipments for April 2009 were down 21.8% and bookings were down 5.2%. The combined (rigid and flex) industry book-to-bill ratio in April 2009 climbed to 0.97.
