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(December 22, 2006) BANNOCKBURN, Ill. — The November book-to-bill fell to 0.92 for North American rigid- and flex-PCB production, down slightly from 0.99 in October. The rigid segment posted a book-to-bill of 0.92; flex circuit production reached 0.86, both down from the previous month. The current decline indicates a period of slow growth in all segments of electronics, said Denny McGuirk, president of IPC, who predicts a strong year-end.
Compared to November 2005, rigid PCB shipments are up 6%; bookings are down 11.6%. Flexible circuit shipments dropped 7.4% and bookings fell 37.6% compared to November of last year. Combined industry shipments increased 4.9%, with a 14.0% decrease in bookings.
Year-to-date, rigid PCB shipments are up 9.5%. Bookings are also positive, up 6.6%. Flexible circuit shipments are up 6.7%. Bookings, however, are down 10.0%. Combined industry shipments are up 9.3% and bookings rose 5.3%.
From October to November, rigid-PCB shipments increased 4.3%. Bookings for rigid PCBs decreased 10.6%. Compared to October, flexible-circuit shipments dropped 4.6%; bookings declined 4.8%. Combined industry shipments for November 2006 climbed 3.7% over October and bookings fell 10.2% over the previous month.
IPC's monthly survey measures bookings and shipments from U.S. and Canadian facilities, not PCB production. In November 2006, 86% of total PCB shipments reported were domestically produced, accounting for 85% of rigid and 96% of flex circuits. Bare circuits, without value-add services such as assembly, equaled about 67% of flex-circuit shipment values in November.
Ratios are based on monthly data collected from PCB producers who participate in IPC's monthly PCB statistical program. The book-to-bill is calculated by dividing the value of orders booked over the past three months by the value of sales billed during the same period from the companies in IPC's survey sample. A ratio of more than 1.00 suggests that current demand is ahead of supply, which indicates probable near-term growth.
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