BANNOCKBURN, IL – North American PWB shipments in April fell 34.7% year-over-year, while orders dropped 25.1%, says IPC.

For the month, rigid board shipments dropped 37.1% and orders fell 25.1% from April 2008. Flex shipments dropped 2.1%, and orders were down 0.3%. Rigid PWBs make up an estimated 90% of current PCB sales in North America, according to IPC.

About 11% of the overall PWB shipments were brokered boards built offshore but sold into North America.

The book-to-bill ratio for the month climbed 0.06 points to 0.97, up for the third straight month, according to the association. A ratio of more than 1.0 suggests current demand is ahead of supply, a positive indicator for sales growth over the next two to three months.

Year to date, combined shipments are down 25.7%, and orders are off 32%. Sequentially, combined shipments were down 21.8%; orders were down 5.2%.

Year to date, April rigid shipments dropped 27.7%, while orders decreased 33.7%. Sequentially, rigid shipments declined 22.6%, and orders decreased 5.5%. The rigid book-to-bill ratio rose to 0.98, up 0.06 points from March.

Year to date, flex shipments were up 3.9%; orders were down 5.5%. Sequentially, flex shipments declined 14.9%, and orders dropped 1.5%. The flex book-to-bill ratio improved to 0.94, up from 0.87 in March. The flex sales include certain assembly services estimated at 23% of the total value of the market in April.

In April, 89% of total shipments reported were domestically produced. Domestic production accounted for 89% of rigid PWB and 86% of flex shipments.

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