BANNOCKBURN, IL – North American PWB shipments in December increased 13.3% year-over-year and orders rose 2.9% compared to the same month in 2009.

For the year, printed circuit board shipments rose 17.7%, and orders were up 21%. Sequentially, December PWB shipments increased 14.1%, and orders increased 16.7%.

The book-to-bill held steady at 0.96, meaning for every $96 worth of orders, $100 worth of PCBs were shipped. 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 three months.

Rigid PWB shipments for the month were up 10.6%, while orders dropped 0.8% year-over-year. Rigid shipments were up 17.8% in 2010, and orders rose 20.9%. Sequentially, rigid shipments increased 14.1%, while orders increased 15.5%. The rigid book-to-bill remained at 0.96.

Flex circuit shipments were up 50.9%, and orders grew 65.3% compared to December 2009. For the year, flex shipments increased 16%, and orders were up 22.3%. Sequentially, flex shipments increased 13.3%, while orders were up 30.9%. The flex book-to-bill climbed to 0.97.

Rigid PWBs represent an estimated 89% of the current North American industry. In December, 82% of total shipments reported were domestically produced, suggesting the remainder were built offshore and sold through PCB firms acting as brokers. Domestic production accounted for 82% of rigid and 81% of flex circuit shipments, respectively.