BANNOCKBURN, IL – North American PWB shipments in September were up 21.8% sequentially, while orders increased 31%.
PWB shipments decreased 14.3% year-over-year, while orders dropped 6.4%.
Year to date through September, shipments were down 25.5%, and orders fell 23.4%.
The book-to-bill ratio reached 1.08, up 1 basis point from August. It was the fifth straight month the ratio topped 1.0, the benchmark for a market on the rise.
For the month, rigid PWB shipments declined 15.9% and orders fell 7.8% year-over-year. Year to date, rigid shipments were down 27.3%, while orders dropped 24.7%. Sequentially, rigid shipments grew 21.7%, and orders increased 29.7%. The rigid book-to-bill ratio was flat at 1.09.
Flex shipments in September rose 7.9%, while orders increased 12.1% compared to September 2008. Year to date, flex shipments were down 1.5%, and orders were down 4.9%. Sequentially, flex shipments went up 22%, and orders increased 48.1%. The flex book-to-bill climbed three basis points to 0.95.
A ratio of more than 1.0 suggests current demand is ahead of supply, which is a positive indicator for sales growth over the next two to six months. A ratio of 1.08 means that for every $100 worth of boards shipped, $108 worth of orders were placed.
In September, 84% of total shipments reported were domestically produced. The remainder were likely built offshore and resold by domestic fabricators.
MILPITAS, CA – Bliss Industries, an OEM of material handling carts and racks for PCB assembly, will holding a new product webinar next week.
Bliss is preparing to launch several products and seeks feedback from users. The firm is offering customers the chance to preview products on Nov. 3 at 11 a.m. PST.
Attendees will receive a 5% discount on any products shown.
For more information, contact Shana Bliss at sbliss@blissindustries.com.
SAN JOSE – The Microelectronics Packaging and Test Engineering Council has finalized the program for its Semiconductor to Solar: Growth Opportunities for the IC Industry symposium, to be held Nov. 19 in Santa Clara, CA.
Steve Hill, president of Kyocera Solar Inc., will keynote with creating new markets: a global solar outlook.
Other presentations include solar PV manufacturing and processing challenges and opportunities from an equipment maker's perspective; a contamination reduction program for improving materials, process tools, manufacturing environment and clean manufacturing; the PV solar market – eclipsed by the financial crisis; solar scaling up – a dynamic industry's growth; accelerating silicon-photovoltaics technology adoption through a new business model; understanding solar performance and degradation; utilization of new semiconductor materials for solar power conversion; a journey from semiconductor to solar: SolarMagic technology; reliability challenges for solar photovoltaics and opportunities for semiconductors; the heart of PV collaboration – PV group: increasing the power of PV via standards, roadmaps, EHS, and partnerships; taking solar energy mainstream: how public policy drives the PV market, and impact of solar panel interconnects on long-term reliability and economics
To register, visit www.meptec.org.