According to IPC (Northbrook, IL), the North American interconnect manufacturing services (IMS)/ printed circuit board (PCB) industry book-to-bill ratio for February remained firm at 1.08. The ratio is calculated by averaging the index numbers for orders booked over the past three months and dividing by the average index numbers for sales billed during the same period. A ratio of more than 1.00 suggests that current demand is ahead of supply, which indicates probable near-term growth.

Shipments in February increased 27.5% year-on-year, while orders booked increased 42%. Shipments of PCBs are up 27.9% year-to-date, with bookings up 30.9%.

The February shipment index was 131.4, up 11.3% from January, and the booking index was 144.4, up 15.3%..

The index shows how current PCB shipments and bookings relate to an index point. In this case, 1992 was chosen as the index point because it was a stable growth year for U.S. PCB manufacturers. A shipment index number of 117.0, for example, indicates that shipments are 17% higher than average shipments for the same time period in 1992.

Survey participants report shipments have increased 28.6% year-to date and bookings have increased 33.6%.

The information in IPC's monthly industry statistics is based on data provided by PCB manufacturers that participate in the IMS Statistical Program. These companies represent approximately 60% of the U.S. IMS industry.

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