BANNOCKBURN, IL – January North American printed circuit board shipments were down 1.1% year-over-year, and orders decreased 4% compared to January 2012, says IPC.

The book-to-bill ratio crossed into positive territory and stands at 1.01. A ratio of more than 1 suggests that current demand is ahead of supply, which is a positive indicator for sales growth over the next two to three months.

 “The book-to-bill ratio for the North American PCB industry strengthened for the second consecutive month, turning the corner in December after an eight-month downturn,” according to Sharon Starr, IPC director of market research. “Sales and orders, however, remained sluggish in January.”

In January, 85% of total PCB shipments were domestically produced.

Detailed data about rigid and flex PCBs are now only in the monthly North American PCB Market Report. The first edition will be published later this week.

The report will be available by subscription and free to the companies that participate in IPC’s PCB Statistical Program.

For more information, visit www.ipc.org/market-research-subscriptions.